From Translanguaging to Transknowledging: Exploring New Epistemological and Linguistic Approaches in Higher Education Research

Abstract

In this chapter, we contribute to ongoing discussions surrounding decolonising research and teaching in higher education by considering the place of language and linguistic diversity within this decolonising turn. The question we explore is how academic researchers and lecturers can recognise and respect that a move to decolonise will involve engaging with epistemologies expressed in different languages and expressed from diverse worldviews. We take inspiration from the work of linguistic citizenship researchers who make explicit the links between knowledge systems, languages and issues of equality/inequality. In linguistic citizenship, research connections are made between the everyday practice of translanguaging, moving between different linguistic repertoires by multilingual speakers, and transknowledging or the fluid movement between differing systems of knowing. To explore the potential of using the concepts of translanguaging and transknowledging as tools in the task of decolonising higher education research and practice, we discuss in depth two published research studies for critical reflection.

Citation

Andrews, J., Fay, R., Huang, Z.M. and White, R. (2023), "From Translanguaging to Transknowledging: Exploring New Epistemological and Linguistic Approaches in Higher Education Research", Huisman, J. and Tight, M. (Ed.) Theory and Method in Higher Education Research (Theory and Method in Higher Education Research, Vol. 9), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 137-151. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2056-375220230000009008