LIST OF WORKSHOPS

In this workshop, we will delve into the ways in which decolonial and feminist perspectives can critically enhance analytical frameworks in public policy studies. Our objective is to identify the unique assets and advantages that these approaches offer in understanding and explaining public policy phenomena, with particular attention paid to the arguments and values that underlie struggles, ideas, and experiences. 

During the workshop, we will explore some recent works that have attempted to bridge the gap between these perspectives, mapping their efforts. However, we will focus on two different directions.

The first direction focuses on epistemological pluriversity and the circumstances in which policy interactions occur. It is closely related to the idea of coloniality of knowledge, which is a central aspect of the broader category of coloniality of power, as proposed by Quijano (2005). Together, these concepts enable us to examine the dominant positivist paradigm in mainstream science critically, and to recognize the extent to which our post-positivist, non-mainstream ideas of science are also colonized. While we may acknowledge other epistemological frameworks and rationalities, we must ask ourselves to what extent we truly engage with them. Epistemological pluriversity can also help us to recognize alternative modes of thinking from other regions, which carry with them different references, experiences, and memories. The concept of coloniality of knowledge can assist us in questioning our critical epistemological structures, allowing us to name social phenomena, categories, processes, and places - echoing Spivak's question (1988) whether the subaltern can speak. Reflecting on the limitations of epistemological systems, Oyèrónkẹ Oyěwùmí (1997) reminds us that any process of categorizing the social other can involve distortions, linguistic and meaning mystifications, or even a total lack of understanding. Valentin-Yves Mudimbe (1988) warned us that the very construction of the idea of Africa involved both the reduced and oppressive Western images of this vast and plural continent, as well as the use of models of analysis supported by an "order of Western epistemology" (1988, p.10). These movements can generate a type of violence known as epistemic oppression (Dotson, 2014), epistemic violence, epistemic racism, or epistemicide, as Suely Carneiro (2005) stated. According to Walter Mignolo (2002), knowledge is never abstract and delocalized, although modernity has forced this vision. In this sense, Edgardo Lander (2005) explores different expressions of epistemic violence in the social sciences from the cultural dimension of neoliberalism as a hegemonic expression of civilization. These paths of inquiry enable us to deeply reconsider the production and validation of our epistemological worldviews, particularly when we begin to think in terms of border epistemologies—those that are constructed in new spaces and respect pluriversity, in line with Catherine Walsh's (2009) concept of interculturality. Where are these border areas, and how can we create spaces for them within critical studies in public policies? These zones can emerge in our thematic choices, objects of study, frameworks of analysis, methodological paths, and normative frameworks, but only when we take the time to thoroughly examine them.

The concept of decolonizing knowledge offers a second direction of inquiry. Decolonizing knowledge is a political concept that presents itself as a counter-hegemonic alternative, situated within a broader context of domination. The recognition of subordination is a crucial first step towards political liberation. The strength of decolonizing knowledge comes from the realization that the domain of subjectivities is one of the main mechanisms of colonialism. This mechanism was well articulated by the Congolese scholar Valentin Mudimbe (1988), who argued that the “reform of native minds” was one of the most forceful and violent actions of colonial modernity. Here, we are referring to the domain of subjectivities as the disintegration between body and reason, and between nature and society. The colonized body was understood as lacking agency, subjectivity, and voice, as explained by the American scholar bell hooks (1984). Therefore, bringing back the body is an essential part of decolonizing knowledge, since colonialism also regulates otherness, gender, sexuality, nature, and its resources. The American scholar Patricia Hill Collins (2018) refers to a decolonial black feminist epistemology that has two crucial pillars: the ethics of care and personal responsibility in research. Collins emphasizes individual uniqueness, the role of emotions in dialogue, and the power of empathy as practical avenues of investigation. These approaches can enable social subjects who are often overlooked in scientific research to gain biopolitical visibility, with their own voices, discursive structures, sensory and cultural references. Expanding the dimensions of investigation of social realities and identities is related to the necessary efforts at intersectionality, as Kimberle Crenshaw (1991, 2019) has taught us, along with other important women authors. Gender, race, class, ability, sexual orientation, religion, caste, age, geolocation, and other identity markers are organized in multiple and simultaneous dimensions, and are all relevant for understanding the processes of exclusion, silencing, and violence against social bodies that have historically been denied recognition in their experiences of doing, feeling, and living. The Brazilian scholar Lélia Gonzales (2020) proposes the concept of Amefricanity as a political-cultural category, while the Argentinian scholar Zulma Palermo (2018) discusses the place of knowledge as a methodological proposal for the recognition of knowledge that is built in common and shared and Rosana Boullosa (2019) talks about the concept of multiactoriality. All these movements are, to some extent, connected with the idea of decolonizing knowledge, which highlights the non-neutrality of knowledge and points to the naturalized systems of oppression and domination of subjectivities. They also creatively bring to scientific research other social subjects, their bodies, their experiences, their knowledge, and their internal processes of validating the construction of the self and the other.

Both directions help expose and question how our cognitive perspectives, subjectivities, and material and intersubjective experiences are colonized.

References

Boullosa, Rosana (2019). Mirando ao Revés as políticas públicas: os desenvolvimentos de uma abordagem crítica e reflexiva para o estudo das políticas públicas. Publicações da Escola da AGU, v. 11, p. 89-106

Carneiro, Suely. (2005). A construção do outro como não-ser como fundamento do ser (Tese (Doutorado). Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo.

Collins, Patrícia Hill. (2018). Epistemologia feminista negra. In: Bernardino-Costa, JOaze; Maldonato-Torres, Nelson & Grosfoguel, Ramón. Decolonialidade e Pensamento Afrodiaspórico. Belo Horizonte, Autêntica.

Crenshaw, Kimberle. (1991). Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color. Stanford Law Review, 43(6), 1241–1299. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039.

Dussel, Enrique. Lima Loch 2018 Quili(1994). El encubrimiento del Outro: hacia el origen del "mito de la Modernidad". La Paz: Plural, 1994.

Fanon, Frantz. (1952). Peau noire, masques blancs, Paris: Éditions du Seuil, 1952

Gonzales, Lélia. (2020). Por um feminismo afro-latino-americano. Rio de Janeiro: Zahar.

hook, bell. (1984). Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center. South End Press. 1984.

Lugone, Mama. (2005). “Multiculturalismo radical y feminismos de mujeres de color”. In: Revista Internacional de Filosofía política, (25), p. 61-76.

Mignolo, Walter. (2002). “The geopolitics of knowledge and the colonial difference”. The South Atlantic Quarterly, v. 101, n. 1, p. 57-95.

Mudimbe, Valentin. (1988). The Invention of Africa. Gnosis, Philosophy, and the Order of Knowledge, Bloomington, Indiana University Press.

Oyěwùmí, Oyèrónkẹ. (1997). The Invention of Women: Making an African Sense of Western Gender Discourses. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997. (ISBN 978-0-8166-2441-6).

Palermo, Zulma. (2018). Lugarizando saberes. IN: Cadernos de estudos culturais, Campo Grande, MS, v. 2, p. 149-160, jul./dez.

Quijano, Anibal. (2005). Colonialidade do poder, eurocentrismo e América Latina. In.: Edgardo Lander (Org.). A colonialidade do saber: Eurocentrismo e ciências sociais - Perspectivas latinoamericanas. Colección Sur Sur, CLACSO: Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, 2005. p. 107-126.

Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty (1988). Can the Subaltern Speak? Die Philosophin 14 (27):42-58.

Walsh, Catherine. (2009). Interculturalidad, Estado, Sociedad. Luchas (de) coloniales de nuestra época. Quito: Ed. Abya Yala.

Welcome to our workshop on the intersection of decolonial and feminist perspectives in public policy studies. Our aim is to explore how these approaches can enhance analytical frameworks and provide deeper insights into public policy phenomena. We will focus on the unique assets and advantages of these perspectives, paying close attention to the underlying arguments and values that shape our understanding of struggles, ideas, and experiences. 

Our discussions and activities will be organized around two themes: epistemological pluriversity and decolonizing knowledge. We will examine different papers to see how decolonial and feminist approaches can be applied to produce more powerful and insightful discussions, ultimately contributing towards a more democratic society.

We extend a warm invitation to authors of all genders, with a particular emphasis on those from the Global South, to participate in our workshop that focuses on critical policy studies, decolonial studies, and feminist studies. You are welcome to submit theoretical, methodological, or empirical papers for consideration. Theoretically, we welcome papers that explore how the traditions of decolonial and/or feminist studies can be used to understand policy processes. Methodologically, we are interested in papers that explore how policy analysis can be conducted from one or both of these perspectives. Empirically, we would value papers that investigate processes of collective action in support of problem definitions or policy.

Let's investigate and learn together!

In this workshop, we will explore how decolonial and feminist perspectives can enhance analytical frameworks in the field of public policy studies. Our goal is to identify the unique assets and advantages of these approaches in understanding and explaining public policy phenomena while giving particular attention to the underlying arguments and values that drive struggles, ideas, and experiences. 

Our discussions and activities will be structured around two main directions. The first direction focuses on epistemological pluriverses and the circumstances in which policy interactions occur. The second direction will explore the concept of decolonizing knowledge as a political concept that presents itself as a counter-hegemonic alternative, situated within a broader context of domination. Together, they can help us to denaturalize the processes of colonization of cognitive perspectives, subjectivities, and material and intersubjective experiences.

During the workshop, we will be able to examine different papers and explore how decolonial and/or feminist approaches can be applied to produce more powerful and meaningful discussions towards a democratic society. This proposal is open to both male and female authors, especially from the Global South. The workshop welcomes submissions of theoretical, methodological, or empirical papers. As a final product, we intend to propose a book with the papers selected and presented, contributing to the deepening of critical studies in public policy analysis. 

Ana Claudia Farranha

I am an associate professor (level 3) at the Faculty of Law of the University of Brasília (FD/UnB). I have a PhD in Social Sciences from UNICAMP (2006). I am a researcher at the Center for Advanced Studies in Government and Public Administration - CEAG, working mainly on the following topics: State, Regulatory Framework and Public Policies; Equity and Participation Studies; Politics, Law and the Internet. I am a Researcher at the National Institute for Digital Democracy - INCT-DD. I was Events Director of the Brazilian Society of Public Administration (SBAP) from 2020 to 2022. I participated  as a member of the Commission of Jurists (Working Group at Parliament) evaluating and proposing normative strategies to improve legislation to combat structural and institutional racism in Brazil (2021). In 2022, I carried out a post-doctoral internship at the University of Oklahoma (OU) and at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, at the Institute of Social and Political Studies, in the Multidisciplinary Study Group on Affirmative Actions (UERJ/IESP/GEMAA), with the research Right of Access to Information and Racial Issues. I was General Coordinator of Studies and Jurisprudence on Access to Information at the Office of the Comptroller General (CGU). 

Mireille Manga

As an Associate Professor of Political Science at the International Relations Institute of Cameroon (IRIC), I am dedicated to teaching and conducting research in my field. My areas of expertise include policy and politics, democracy and participation, elections, migrations and citizenship, and development diplomacy. I am passionate about advancing knowledge in my field and inspiring the next generation of African scholars. Additionally, I hold the position of Vice President at the International Public Policy Association (IPPA).

Rosana de Freitas Boullosa

I have been an associate professor (level 4) at the University of Brasília, Brazil, since 2009. My work there involves research, teaching, and social action projects. I teach undergraduate and graduate courses in public policy, public policy evaluation, and other disciplines related to democracy and public deliberation at the University of Brasilia (UnB) and the National School of Public Administration (Enap). As a critical researcher, I pay particular attention to the perspectives of decolonial studies, feminist studies, and studies in social management, linking them to the tradition of Latin American critical thinking. I am part of the leading research networks in Brazil and coordinate a research group on critical policy studies in Brazil. In addition, I have been the director of the Center for Urban and Regional Studies at the University of Brasília since 2020 and have served as an editor of the Critical Policy Studies Journal since 2022. I am also one of the Vice Presidents of the International Public Policy Association (IPPA).