Colonised Minds : Narratives that Shape Psychology

A critical exploration of historical power structures and forces of oppression that shaped the field of psychology, and a compelling call to move towards the decolonisation of the discipline in today’s university.

Psychology, as it is taught in the Global North, strives to be an objective science beyond reproach – but what happens when we examine the discipline critically, through an anti-colonial lens?

This text pulls back the curtain on the existing canon to reveal the historical power structures that shaped the discipline, and examines the extent to which psychology today continues to uphold oppression. Colonised Minds situates current teaching and research of major topics in the field of psychology within the context of colonialism to better understand how some ideas were allowed to flourish while others were suppressed, censored, or left behind. This book will also direct you to critical, antiracist, and feminist approaches for the field and the modern university more generally – looking to voices and perspectives that have been marginalised for ways to rethink the way we see, and teach, psychology.

Akira O’Connor is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology and the Institutional Race Equality Charter Chair at the University of St Andrews.
Erin Robbins is a Lecturer in Psychology and the Director of Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion for the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of St Andrews.