Knowledge Democracy

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://knowledgedemocracydspace.com/handle/123456789/1076

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End date: 1979Subject: search.filters.subject.Global

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    Decolonisation of higher education: Knowledge, democracy and values
    (0000) Hall, Budd L
    This paper, written by Dr Budd L. Hall examines how colonial ideas shaped whose knowledge counts in higher education. Hall links the enclosure of common land in Europe to the enclosure of knowledge in early universities. Drawing on the idea of epistemicide, the killing of knowledge systems, he explains how Western thought came to dominate the world. The paper then presents examples from PRIA, the Honey Bee Network, Mpambo Afrikan Multiversity, Abahlali baseMjondolo and the Lil’wat First Nation, which show that knowledge also grows outside the academy. It concludes with seven principles of knowledge democracy, including the recognition of multiple ways of knowing, the co-construction of knowledge, community rights over knowledge and open access to research. These principles call on universities to reconsider whose knowledge they recognise and to support more inclusive approaches to research and education.
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    Non-formal adult education as an entry point for community organisation
    (0000) Ginny; Shrivastava, Om
    How can adult education be leveraged to organise communities? Non formal adult education, by virtue of its flexibility and close alignment with local needs, offers a strong entry point for community organisation. In this article, Ginny and Om Srivastava outline how adult education can be operationalised not merely as a literacy intervention but as a participatory process rooted in people’s lived realities aimed towards individual and social development. They emphasise that the core aim is not limited to reading and writing, but to enable individuals to understand their social conditions, develop critical awareness, and begin to act collectively. Literacy, functional knowledge, and consciousness raising are seen as interconnected pathways through which people can recognise their own potential and organise for change. The article further details how such programmes must be grounded in the community through immersion, participatory methods, and locally relevant materials. Adult education centres, when designed as shared spaces of dialogue and reflection, can evolve into forums for collective decision making and action. In this sense, adult education becomes not an end in itself, but a starting point for building confidence, leadership, and sustained community organisation.
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    Knowledge as a commodity and participatory research
    ( Prospects, UNESCO, 1979) Hall, Budd L
    What is knowledge? How is it formed? Who has the authority to “make” it? and who does it ultimately serve? These are the central questions Dr. Budd Hall raises in this article. He critiques the way traditional intellectuals such as scientists and scholars, often trained in elite universities and supported by international funding agencies, are institutionally positioned as the legitimate producers of knowledge. Embedded within particular class locations, this group often produces knowledge that serves its own class interests and maintains dominant social relations. In this process, organic intellectuals engaged in critical reflection and grassroots organising are sidelined as knowledge makers. Drawing on the works of Freire, Mao and others, Hall reflects on the role of intellectuals. He advances a systematic critique of survey research and outlines the guiding principles of participatory research. The article is a critical inquiry into the nature of knowledge within the new international order. It calls for moving beyond viewing knowledge as intellectual commodities such as papers and conferences and toward recognising and valuing local and indigenous knowledge systems, while developing more decentralised ways of legitimising people as producers of knowledge.
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    Challenges in the co-construction of knowledge: A global study on strengthening structures for community university research partnerships
    (0000) Hall, Budd L; Tandon, Rajesh; Tremblay, Crystal; Singh, Wafa
    In this paper, Budd Hall, Rajesh Tandon, Crystal Tremblay and Wafa Singh present a global study on structures that support community-university research partnerships. The study draws on an international survey and national case studies from twelve countries, examining how universities institutionalise community engagement and where this engagement connects with actual research practice. The authors turn to the discourse of knowledge democracy, arguing that community-based research offers a way to address long-standing inequities in whose knowledge counts within the academy. Survey findings point to a gap between universities' stated commitment to co-constructing knowledge and the reality that very few research projects originate from communities themselves. The paper reviews facilitative structures across universities in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, India and elsewhere, and considers the role of national networks and policies in strengthening these partnerships. It closes with recommendations for national policy, higher education institutions, and community and civil society organisations.
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    Entry for new pergammon encyclopaedia of adult education: Social movement learning
    (0000) Hall, Budd L; Clover, Darlene E.
    This encyclopedia entry by Budd L. Hall and Darlene E. Clover examines social movement learning as an under-recognized domain of adult education. It asks how social movements function as "epistemic communities" that generate new knowledge, worldviews, and transformative learning for both participants and broader society. The article defines and expands on social movement learning as occurring in two ways, learning by people who are part of social movements, and by people outside movements as a result of movement actions or existence. It further traces the historical and theoretical roots of social movement learning, drawing on key figures including Antonio Gramsci and Paulo Freire, who both saw learning flourishing within social movement contexts. The article also elaborates on other theories about how new social movements catalyze personal transformation, define future topics of adult education, and serve as privileged sites of transformative learning. It argues that contemporary social movements are increasingly radical, complex, and inclusive of overlapping issues, cognizant of globalization and interconnected struggles. It ends with stating how social movement learning helps answer critical questions about how best to use scarce resources for movement purposes and how to strengthen the power of social movements.