Aterrizar la Decolonialidad – Grounding Decoloniality

10th and 11th of April 2026 

Over the past few years, decolonial approaches have become increasingly prominent worldwide and are now also being more widely embraced in the so-called Global North and incorporated into academic activities. In part, this is also taking place within a debate on postcolonial theory, including the reservation that this theoretical approach is ultimately too detached and has remained too entrenched in classical traditions of thought; however, this does not necessarily apply to the Global South and thus tends to reflect a Northern discussion. Ironically, however, a major criticism levelled at much of decolonial work is that it operates predominantly within an epistemological sphere or adopts a systemic, often structuralist, macro-perspective. Furthermore, in the Global North, the work that is noticed consists almost exclusively of that produced by academics holding permanent positions at ‘recognised’ institutions in the Global North. In this sense, those decolonial debates that are more widely received can almost be regarded as part of the hegemonic academic knowledge system. As Aura Cumes observes, this leads to the absurd situation where, even in the Global South, decolonial approaches are often only accorded value once they have been imported from the North.

Although these works do regularly refer to social and political processes as well as concrete practices, activities and movements at other levels, these references generally remain superficial and there is scarcely any genuine connection. At the same time, many relevant areas are continously overlooked due to a strong focus on formalised institutions and spaces. There are certainly other, more in-depth analyses that relate to concrete social realities, but as these often originate from activists or academics from affected groups, they are scarcely acknowledged in established academia or are even dismissed as supposedly unscientific. Ultimately, this is also linked to a methodological debate concerning exchange and research attitudes, in which, to put it simply, the question arises as to how the traditional position of the informants, who are, in a sense, interviewed from a position of superiority, can be decolonised and transformed.

We therefore see the need to bridge this gap and therefore organise a workshop entitled “Aterrizar la Decolonialidad – Grounding Decoloniality”, which is intended to mark the start of a joint process of reflection and exchange. Here, in five thematic panels featuring representatives from practice and academia, we will discuss previous experiences, work and approaches in order to conduct this debate on linking more theoretical-abstract and epistemologically oriented approaches with practical, everyday life experiences and approaches.

The workshop will mark the conclusion of the visit of our visiting professor, Khayaat Fakier from Stellenbosch University, taking place on the 10th and 11th of April 2026 at the University of Hamburg  in the Philosophers Tower (Von-Melle-Park 6) and will be open to several languages.

For questions, please contact: last@uni-hamburg.de