Shedding darkness.

Reflecting on futures from a decolonial perspective.

Abstract

This article reflects on the critical inquiry that shapes the Darkness Reframed issue and, from a decolonial perspective, problematizes the possible assumptions attached to the category of darkness. Unpacking coloniality not only as a historical legacy but as a living force that continues to shape ways of thinking, the reflection points to the plurality of futures to be reframed in order to embrace a multilayered understanding of darkness(es). By questioning linear temporality and moving beyond the evolutionary logic of a past progressing towards a single, inevitable future, the article challenges the reduction of opposites through which past and future - as well as brightness and darkness - become framed within conceptual dualities. After engaging with the articles that constitute this issue, this contribution invites readers to rethink darkness through a continuous exercise of deframing to reframe hegemonic forms of knowledge. Understood as a spiral, this exercise involves different temporalities, diverse actors, and distinct stages in the formation of individual and collective reflection. It therefore moves beyond academic communities, positioning scholars as citizens and members of wider societies. In this way, the article contributes to imagining futures grounded in the (re)building of knowledge through interdisciplinary approaches shaped by a plurality of societal actors.