Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

(De)colonizing Culture in Community Psychology: Reflections from Critical Social Science

  • original paper
  • Published:
American Journal of Community Psychology

Abstract

Since its inception, community psychology has been interested in cultural matters relating to issues of diversity and marginalization. However, the field has tended to understand culture as static social markers or as the background for understanding group differences. In this article the authors contend that culture is inseparable from who we are and what we do as social beings. Moreover, culture is continually shaped by socio-historical and political processes intertwined within the globalized history of power. The authors propose a decolonizing standpoint grounded in critical social science to disrupt understandings of cultural matters that marginalize others. This standpoint would move the field toward deeper critical thinking, reflexivity and emancipatory action. The authors present their work to illustrate how they integrate a decolonizing standpoint to community psychology research and teaching. They conclude that community psychology must aim towards intercultural work engaging its political nature from a place of ontological/epistemological/methodological parity.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. This particular form of Eurocentric power is intricately linked with the emergence of capitalism as the dominant economic and values system. Its establishment came about at the cost of vanquishing other ways of being and knowing that existed in what came to be known as Europe (see Lander 2005).

  2. Autoethnography is “an autobiographical genre of writing that displays multiple layers of consciousness, connecting the personal to the cultural” (Ellis and Bochner 2000, p. 739).

References

  • Anderson, G. L. (1998). Toward authentic participation: Deconstructing the discourses of participatory reforms in education. American Educational Research Journal, 35(4), 571–603.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anzaldúa, G. (1999). Borderlands, la frontera: The new mestiza (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Aunt Lute Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berg, M., Coman, E., & Schensul, J. J. (2009). Youth action research for prevention: A multi-level intervention designed to increase efficacy and empowerment among urban youth. American Journal of Community Psychology, 43, 345–359.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Berry, J. W. (1997). Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 46, 5–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhatia, S., & Ram, A. (2001). Rethinking “acculturation” in relation to diasporic cultures and postcolonial identities. Human Development, 44(1), 1–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonilla, A. (2004). La II Cumbre Continental de los Pueblos y Nacionalidades Indígenas de Abya Yala (Quito, 2004) [The II Continental Summit of the Indigenous Pueblos and Nationalities of Abya Yala (Quito, 2004)]. Observatorio Social de América Latina, 15, 257–266. Retrieved 21 Aug 2008 from http://bibliotecavirtual.clacso.org.ar/ar/libros/osal/osal15/bonilla15.pdf.

  • Borg, M. B. (2006). Engaging diversity’s underbelly: A story from an immigrant parish community. American Journal of Community Psychology, 37(3/4), 191–201.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P., & Passeron, J.-C. (2000). Reproduction in education, society and culture. London, UK: Sage.

  • Bulhan, H. A. (1985). Frantz Fanon and the psychology of oppression. New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carspecken, P. F. (1996). Critical ethnography in educational research. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Christens, B., & Perkins, D. D. (2008). Transdisciplinary, multilevel action research to enhance ecological and psychopolitical validity. Journal of Community Psychology, 36(2), 214–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cole, M. (2003). Cultural psychology: A once and future discipline. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dávalos, P. (2005). Movimiento indígena ecuatoriano: Construcción política y epistémica [Ecuadorian Indigenous movement: Political and epistemic construction]. In D. Mato (Ed.), Cultura, política y sociedad: Perspectivas latinoamericanas [Culture, politics and society: Latin American perspectives] (pp. 337–357). Buenos Aires, Argentina: Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales.

  • Dinh, K. T., Weinstein, T. L., Nemon, M., & Rondeau, S. (2008). The effects of contact with Asians and Asian Americans on White American college students: Attitudes, awareness of racial discrimination, and psychological adjustment. American Journal of Community Psychology, 42, 298–308.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dodson, M. (2003). The end in the beginning: Re(de)fining Aboriginality. In M. Grossman (Ed.), Blacklines: Contemporary critical writing by Indigenous Australians (pp. 25–41). Carlton, Australia: Melbourne University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dudgeon, P., & Fielder, J. (2006). Third spaces within tertiary places: Indigenous Australian Studies. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 16, 396–409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dudgeon, P., & Oxenham, D. (1990). The complexity of Aboriginal diversity: Identity and kindredness. St Lucia: University of Queensland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, C., & Bochner, A. P. (2000). Autoethnography, personal narrative, reflexivity: Researcher as subject. In N. K. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), The handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 733–768). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Espiritu, Y. L. (2003). Home bound: Filipino lives across cultures, communities and countries. Ewing, NJ: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fine, M., Weis, L., Powell, L. C., & Mun Wong, L. (Eds.). (1997). Off White: Readings on race, power, and society. New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankenberg, R. (1993). White women, race matters: The social construction of White women. London, UK: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freire, P. (1972). Pedagogy of the oppressed. Ringwood, Australia: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of cultures. New York, NY: Boston Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gergen, K. (1996). Realidades y relaciones: Aproximación a la construcción social [Realities and relationships: Soundings in social construction]. Madrid, España: Ediciones Paidos S.A.

  • Glover, M., Dudgeon, P., & Huygens, I. (2005). Colonization and racism. In G. Nelson & I. Prilleltensky (Eds.), Community psychology: In pursuit of liberation and wellbeing (pp. 330–347). New York, NY: Palgrave.

    Google Scholar 

  • Godreau, I. P., Reyes Cruz, M., Franco Ortiz, M., & Cuadrado, S. (2008). The lessons of slavery: Discourses of slavery, mestizaje, and blanqueamiento in an elementary school in Puerto Rico. American Ethnologist, 35(1), 115–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gone, J. P. (2007). “We never was happy living like a Whiteman”: Mental health disparities and the postcolonial predicament in American Indian communities. American Journal of Community Psychology, 40, 290–300.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gonzales, N. A., Germán, M., Kim, S. Y., George, P., Fabrett, F. C., Millsap, R., et al. (2008). Mexican American asolescents’ cultural orientation, externalizing behavior and academic engagement: The role of traditional cultural values. American Journal of Community Psychology, 41, 151–164.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Green, M. J., Sonn, C. C., & Matsebula, J. (2007). Reviewing Whiteness: Theory, research and possibilities. South African Journal of Psychology, 37(3), 389–419.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greenfield, P. M. (1997). Culture as process: Empirical methods for cultural psychology. In J. W. Berry, Y. H. Poortinga, & J. Pandey (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology (2nd ed., pp. 301–346). Needham Heights, CA: Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gridley, H., & Breen, L. (2007). So far and yet so near? In S. M. Reich, M. Reimer, I. Prilleltensky, & M. Montero (Eds.), International community psychology: History and theories (pp. 119–139). New York, NY: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Griffin, C. (2000). More than simply talk and text: Psychologist as cultural ethnographers. In C. Squire (Ed.), Reconfiguring psychology and culture (pp. 17–30). London, UK: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guerra, N. G., & Knox, L. (2008). How culture impacts the dissemination and implementation of innovation: A case study of the families and schools together program (FAST) for preventing violence with immigrant Latino youth. American Journal of Community Psychology, 41, 304–313.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hage, G. (2000). White nation: Fantasies of White supremacy in a multicultural society. Australia: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, S. (1996). New ethnicities. In D. Morley & K. Chen (Eds.), Critical dialogues in cultural studies (pp. 441–450). London, UK: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harrell, S. P., & Bond, M. A. (2007). Listening to diversity stories: Principles for practice in community research and action. American Journal of Community Psychology, 37, 357–364.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hermans, H. J. M., & Kempen, H. J. G. (1998). Moving cultures: The perilous problem of cultural dichotomies in a globalizing society. American Psychologist, 53, 1111–1120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holdstock, L. T. (2000). Re-examining psychology: Critical perspectives and African insights. London, UK: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hooks, B. (1990). Yearning: Race, gender, and cultural politics. Boston, MA: South End Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hughes, D., Seidman, E., & Williams, N. (1993). Cultural phenomena and the research enterprise: Toward a culturally anchored methodology. American Journal of Community Psychology, 21, 687–703.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Huygens, I. (2006). Discourses for decolonization: Affirmining Maori authority in New Zealand workplaces. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 16, 363–378.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ibáñez, T. (2001). Psicología social construccionista [Constructionist social psychology]. México: Universidad de Guadalajara.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jahoda, G., & Krewer, B. (1997). History of cross-cultural and cultural psychology. In J. W. Berry, Y. H. Poortinga, & J. Pandey (Eds.), Handbook of cross-cultural psychology (2nd ed., pp. 1–42). Needham Heights, CA: Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jessen, R. A. (Speaker). (2007). The shift of land, Part 8: The global perspective (Radio Documentary). Retrieved 21 Aug 2008 from http://www.prx.org/.

  • Kincheloe, J. L., & McLaren, P. (2000). Rethinking critical theory and qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 279–313). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kincheloe, J. L., & McLaren, P. (2005). Rethinking critical theory and qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 303–342). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ladson-Billings, G. (2003). It’s your world, I’m just trying to explain it: Understanding our epistemological and methodological challenges. Qualitative Inquiry, 1, 5–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ladson-Billings, G., & Donnor, J. (2005). The moral activist role of critical race theory scholarship. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 279–302). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lander, E. (2005). Ciencias sociales: Saberes coloniales y eurocéntricos [Social sciences: Colonial and Eurocentric knowledge]. In E. Lander (Ed.), La colonialidad del saber: Eurocentrismo y ciencias sociales. Perspectivas latinoamericanas [Coloniality of knowledge: Eurocentrism and social sciences, Latin American perspectives] (pp. 11–40). Buenos Aires, Argentina: Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales.

  • Lareau, A., & Horvat, E. M. (1999). Moments of social inclusion and exclusion: Race, class, and cultural capital in family-school relationships. Sociology of Education, 72(January), 37–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lareau, A., & Weininger, E. B. (2003). Cultural capital in educational research: A critical assessment. Theory and Society, 32, 567–606.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lavee, Y., & Ben-Ari, A. (2008). The association of daily hassles and uplifts with family and life satisfaction: Does cultural orientation make a difference? American Journal of Community Psychology, 41, 89–98.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Martin, K. B. M. (2003). Ways of knowing, being and doing: A theoretical framework and methods for Indigenous and Indigenist research. Australian Studies, Voicing Dissent. New Talents 21C: Next Generation Australian Studies, 76, 203–214.

  • Martín-Baró, I. (1994). Towards a liberation psychology (A. Aron, Trans.). In A. Aron & S. Corne (Eds.), Writings for a liberation psychology: Ignacio Martín-Baró (pp. 17–32). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

  • Martín-Baró, I. (1998). Psicología de la liberación [Liberation Psychology]. Editado por A. Blanco. Madrid: Editorial Trotta.

  • Maton, K. I., Perkins, D. D., & Saegert, S. (2006). Community psychology at the crossroads: Prospects for interdisciplinary research. American Journal of Community Psychology, 38, 9–21.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mediratta, K. (1995). Community-building approaches: A survey of strategies and an agenda for future work. Unpublished manuscript.

  • Memmi, A. (1957/1983). Retrato del colonizado [The colonizer and the colonized] (5th ed.). Buenos Aires: Ediciones de la Flor.

  • Misra, G., & Gergen, K. J. (1993). On the place of culture in the psychological sciences. International Journal of Psychology, 28, 225–243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moane, G. (2003). Bridging the personal and the political: Practices for a liberation psychology. American Journal of Community Psychology, 31, 91–101.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Montero, M. (1997/2001). Political psychology: A critical perspective. In D. Fox & I. Prilleltensky (Eds.), Critical psychology: An introduction (pp. 233–244). London: Sage.

  • Montero, M. (2007). The political psychology of liberation: From politics to ethics and back. Political Psychology, 28, 517–533.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Montero, M. (2009). Community action and research as citizen construction. American Journal of Community Psychology, 43, 149–161.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Moreton-Robinson, A. (2004). Whiteness, epistemology and indigenous representation. In A. Moreton-Robinson (Ed.), Whitening race: Essays in social and cultural criticism. Canberra, Australia: Aboriginal Studies Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, G., & Prilleltensky, I. (Eds.). (2005). Community psychology: In pursuit of liberation and wellbeing. London, UK: Palgrace Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Donnell, C. R. (2006). Beyond diversity: Toward a cultural community psychology. American Journal of Community Psychology, 37, 1–8.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Okazaki, S., David, E. J. R., & Abelman, N. (2008). Colonialism and psychology of culture. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2/1, 90–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oxenham, D. (2000). Aboriginal terms of reference. In P. Dudgeon, D. Garvey, & H. Pickett (Eds.), Working with Indigenous Australians: A handbook for psychologists (pp. 109–125). Perth, Australia: Gunada Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parker, I. (2005). Qualitative psychology: Introducing radical psychology. Maidenhead, UK: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parker, I. (2007). Revolution in psychology: Alienation to emancipation. London, UK: Pluto Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quijano, A. (2000). Colonialidad del poder y clasificación social [Coloniality of power and social classification]. Journal of World-Systems Research, VI(2), 342–386.

  • Quijano, A. (2007). Coloniality and modernity/rationality. Cultural Studies, 21(2–3), 168–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rappaport, J. (1977). Community psychology: Values, research, and action. Fort Worth, TX: Holt, Rinehart, and Traveling Thunder.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rappaport, J. (2000). Social responsibility and psychological language: Is anyone else up there? Commentaries on Prilleltensky and Nelson. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 10, 107–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reich, S., & Reich, J. A. (2006). Cultural competence in interdisciplinary collaborations: A method for respecting diversity in research partnerships. American Journal of Community Psychology, 38, 51–62.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reyes Cruz, M. (2002). Multiple contexts, multiple identities: Puerto Rican women’s perspectives on race, ethnicity, discrimination and identity. Unpublished masters’ thesis. University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

  • Reyes Cruz, M. (2006). Mis muertos están conmigo [My dead are with me]: An autoethnographic text on racialization, identity and memory. Qualitative Inquiry, 12(3), 589–595.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reyes Cruz, M. (2008a). Mexican immigrant parents advocating for school reform. New York, NY: LFB Scholarly.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reyes Cruz, M. (2008b). What if I just cite Graciela? Working toward decolonizing knowledge through a critical ethnography. Qualitative Inquiry, 14(4), 651–658.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reyes Cruz, M. (2008c). Standing against coloniality: Claiming the right to democratic participation in the globalized neoliberal state. In M. Reyes Cruz (chair), Racism, coloniality and representation: Examining dynamics of oppression and liberation in community research and action. Paper presented at the II International Conference of Community Psychology, Lisbon, Portugal.

  • Ribeiro, G. L. (2005). Post-imperialismo: Para una discusión después del post-colonialismo y del multiculturalismo [Post-imperialism: For a discussion after post-colonialism and multiculturalism]. In D. Mato (Ed.), Cultura, política y sociedad: Perspectivas latinoamericanas [Culture, politics and society: Latin American perspectives]. Buenos Aires, Argentina: Consejo Latinoamericano de Ciencias Sociales.

  • Riggs, D. W., & Augoustinos, M. (2005). The psychic life of colonial power: Racialised subjectivities, bodies and methods. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 15, 461–477.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rizvi, F. (2007). Postcolonialism and globalization in education. Cultural Studies Critical Methodologies, 7(3), 256–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roosa, M. W., Weaver, S. R., White, R. M. B., Tein, J., Knight, G. P., Gonzales, N., et al. (2009). Family and neighborhood fit or misfit and the adaptation of Mexican Americans. American Journal of Community Psychology, 44, 15–27.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Said, E. W. (1979). Orientalism. New York: Vintage Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sarason, S. (1974). Psychological sense of community: Prospects for a community psychology. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schwandt, T. A. (2001). Dictionary of qualitative inquiry (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Serrano-Garcia, I. (1994). The ethics of the powerful and the power of ethics. American Journal of Community Psychology, 22, 1–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shweder, R. A. (1990). Cultural psychology-what is it? In J. W. Stigler, R. A. Shweder, & G. Herdt (Eds.), Cultural psychology: Essays on comparative human development (pp. 1–43). Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sinha, D., & Kao, H. S. R. (1997). The journey to the east: An introduction. In H. S. R. Kao & D. Sinha (Eds.), Asian perspectives on psychology (pp. 9–22). New Delhi, India: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, L. T. (1999). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples. London: Zed Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Somerville, M., & Perkins, T. (2003). Border work in the contact zone: Thinking Indigenous/non-Indigenous collaboration spatially. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 24(3), 253–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sonn, C. C. (2002). Immigrant adaptation: Exploring the process through sense of community. In A. T. Fisher, C. C. Sonn, & B. J. Bishop (Eds.), Psychological sense of community: Research, applications and implications (pp. 205–222). New York, NY: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sonn, C. C. (2004a). Negotiating identities across cultural boundaries: Complicating cultural competence with power and privilege. Critical Psychology: International Journal of Critical Psychology, 11, 134–149.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sonn, C. C. (2004b). Reflecting on practice: Negotiating challenges to ways of working. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 14, 305–313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trickett, E. J. (1996). A future for community psychology: The contexts of diversity and the diversity of contexts. American Journal of Community Psychology, 24, 209–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trickett, E. J., Watts, R. J., & Birman, D. (Eds.). (1994). Human diversity: Perspectives on people in context. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trueba, E. T., & McLaren, P. (2000). Critical ethnography for the study of immigrants. In E. T. Trueba & L. I. Bartolomé (Eds.), Immigrant voices: In search of educational equity (pp. 37–73). New York: Rowman & Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watts, R. J. (1992). Elements of a psychology of human diversity. Journal of Community Psychology, 20, 116–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watts, R. J., & Serrano-Garcia, I. (2003). The quest for a liberating community psychology: An overview. American Journal of Community Psychology, 31, 73–78.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Writing by the first author was supported in part by the Instituto de Investigaciones Interdisciplinarias, Universidad de Puerto Rico en Cayey grant number 5P20 MD001112-02 from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The article contents are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the NIH official position.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Psicología, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Río Piedras, Puerto Rico

    Mariolga Reyes Cruz

  2. School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Victoria University, Footscray, VIC, Australia

    Christopher C. Sonn

Authors
  1. Mariolga Reyes Cruz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Christopher C. Sonn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Mariolga Reyes Cruz or Christopher C. Sonn.

Additional information

This article is the result of an ongoing collaboration between the authors. Correspondence concerning the paper should be addressed to both authors.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Reyes Cruz, M., Sonn, C.C. (De)colonizing Culture in Community Psychology: Reflections from Critical Social Science. Am J Community Psychol 47, 203–214 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-010-9378-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-010-9378-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation