Abstract
The digital agora, a realm of ostensibly boundless communication, belies the entrenched power dynamics of language, narrative, and representation that have historically privileged Western epistemologies. This paper critically examines the intersections of postcolonial theory, digital culture, and narrative, with a focus on Ngugiwa Thiong'o's transformation work, A Barrel of a Pen: Through a sensitive analysis of the relationships between language, power, and digital discourse, this study reveals the ways in which dominant narratives are perpetuated and subverted in the digital sphere. The viral nature of online discourse, while offering unprecedented opportunities for marginalized voices, also threatens to reinscribe colonialist ideologies and linguistic hierarchies. By interrogating the digital turn through the lens of postcolonial theory, this paper argues for a decolonization of the digital agora, centering indigenous languages, epistemologies, and narratives. Furthermore, it explores the potential for digital platforms to foster counter-narratives and epistemic disobedience, challenging the hegemony of Western knowledge production. In the long, this paper contends that a decolonized digital agora can facilitate a more equitable and just global conversation, where diverse voices and languages are valued and amplified.
Keywords: Decolonization, Digital
Discourse, Postcolonial Theory, Ngugiwa Thiong'o, Narrative Politics
DOI: 10.36349/sojolics.2026.v02i01.022
author/Azan Baba James
journal/Sokoto JOLICS 2(1) | June 2026 |
