Decolonization is not a pedagogy, in that it does not prescribe any specific teaching practices, but rather “describes a goal and a process at once.”^[1] The term originally referred to the process by which formerly colonized countries reclaimed their independence but has been expanded, particularly in the realm of education, to mean decentering^[2] dominant Eurocentric perspectives and “seeing and thinking about the world in non-Westernized ways.”^[3] Decolonization in education is often discussed as a pair with diversification; however, decolonization goes further, and has a fundamentally different aim from diversifying materials. Firstly, because even with diversified content and teaching materials, tokenization can still occur (the diverse identities now made visible can still be marginalized if they are treated as separate from or even in opposition to the “main” national identity).^[4] Secondly, because, whereas diversity is about representation, decolonization is about developing critical awareness of how hegemonical notions of culture, canon, and education are created.^[5] Therefore it is crucial, as Amanda Randall argues, to “scaffold[… diverse texts] with a more critical intent to decolonize.”^[6] This critical intent “[…] requires a fundamental reorientation [emphasis ours] in teaching students how to question the cultural content they encounter, rather than simply absorb it.”^[7],^[8] This emphasis on questioning cultural content creates a natural alignment between a decolonizing mindset and the teaching practices inherent in social justice pedagogy and antiracist pedagogy, though decolonization is not bound to a specific pedagogy.

Some instructors may view decolonization as a content/materials issue: where do I find appropriately diverse texts when what I’m most familiar with are the canonical texts I was exposed to as a learner? However, this is not the main issue. You do not need to replace all of your texts: in fact, keeping some canonical texts in the curriculum is necessary because students need to be familiar with the standard in order to critique it.^[9] Furthermore, suggestions for texts representing diverse voices abound these days for all the major world languages, and recommendations of suitable texts for every proficiency level are easily found (for example, national professional organizations such as the American Association of Teachers of German, and its counterparts for other languages, frequently create round-ups with suggestions). Instead, the real challenge is much harder: namely, to “shift[…] the intellectual goals and foundational analytical frameworks of a curriculum.”^[10] This is the true work of decolonization. However, remember that decolonization is a perpetual process. A curriculum will never be completely “decolonized.”^[11] Rather, start by thinking about materials with a decolonizing perspective. Even if you don’t change a single text, you can make the course materials / the canon an object of critical inquiry. You can incorporate questions of power structures, racism, and social justice into your course. As you further develop a decolonizing mindset, you may become aware that your previous efforts at diversification have fallen short. For example, one of us was recently (rightly) called out by the students in her Advanced Style course for only including one female author on the syllabus, i.e., tokenization. This has provided an opportunity to rework the syllabus not just with an eye to inclusion, but also how to bring a more critical lens to all the texts.

Resources

Criser, Regina and Ervin Malakaj, eds. Diversity and Decolonization in German Studies. Palgrave MacMillan, 2020.

LaFountain, Pascale. “Decolonizing German Studies from the Bottom Up: How We Teach Language Matters.” MLN 138, no. 3 (2023): 1217-1227.

Macedo, Donaldo. Decolonizing Foreign Language Education: The Misteaching of English and Other Colonial Languages. Routledge, 2019.

Randall, Amanda. “Habits of Mind, Habits of Heart: Cultivating Humanity Through a Decolonized German Studies Curriculum.” In Diversity and Decolonization in German Studies, edited by Regina Criser and Ervin Malakaj. Palgrave MacMillan, 2020.

The DDGG Collective. “Diversity, Decolonization, & the German Curriculum.” Accessed April 27, 2026. https://www.ddgccollective.org/