Redirecting the Compass: Paulo Freire, the Global South, and Sulear in Intercultural Communication

Information from the abstract

From a Paulo Freirean perspective, this article addresses the dominance of the Global North in intercultural communication by engaging the concepts of sulear (to south) and suleamento (southing) as critical epistemological tools. Moving beyond a purely conceptual exercise, these notions foreground the Global South as a dynamic site of knowledge production while acknowledging its internal heterogeneity. Methodologically, the study adopts a conceptual and hermeneutic approach to examine how sulear/suleamento reorients established frameworks in intercultural communication. It argues that prevailing epistemologies tend to universalize and homogenize knowledge, thereby obscuring asymmetries and silencing alternative perspectives. In response, sulear and suleamento are proposed as ongoing practices of intellectual and political resistance that challenge hegemonic paradigms and promote more dialogical and situated forms of knowledge production. The article concludes that decolonizing intercultural communication requires not only theoretical revision but also a sustained epistemological shift grounded in the Global South.

Why this record is monitored

This record has an Impact Signal of 79/100 based on recency, source, collaboration, and bibliographic signals. It prioritizes monitoring and is not a judgment of research quality.

Related topics: Global Education and Multiculturalism · Critical and Liberation Pedagogy · Tourism, Volunteerism, and Development