Cultural Amnesia

The Curriculum of Repression and Assimilation

Abstract

This conceptual paper explores the idea of curriculum of repression and assimilation and how the legacies of colonial educational systems in Africa create a form of cultural amnesia, where collective memories are disappearing, erased, or repressed through generations of students, like myself, who have been and are still systematically trained to look outward but never inward. Drawing on Poetter’s critical questions, that interrogate the self--Who am I? What am I learning? What and who am I becoming? What has been and what is now the nature of my educational experience?  Is my education a systematic training into Western Eurocentric norms? Is my education silencing my being and cultural identity?--I utilized the currere method, where I presented a collection of historical fiction, self-reflection, and personal narratives that highlight my personal and pedagogical journey. These narratives are followed by a critical interlude that provides space for analysis and critique. This paper highlights how Eurocentric curriculum continues to suppress indigenous ways of knowing, stifle imagination and critical introspection, and maintain the status quo.