Decolonization and mental health at the university: an analysis from the perspective of Freire, Fanon, Hall, and Hooks

Abstract

This article analyzes the relationship between decolonization and mental health in higher education, highlighting the impacts of social, political, and cultural structures on the psychological well-being of university students. Using a decolonial theoretical-methodological approach, the contributions of Paulo Freire, Frantz Fanon, Stuart Hall, and bell hooks are mobilized, allowing for a critical and intersectional reading of the experiences lived by students from historically marginalized groups. The authors discussed provide tools to understand how dynamics of oppression, exclusion, identity fragmentation, and institutional silencing contribute to the mental suffering of these individuals. It is argued that rethinking the university from a decolonial perspective involves more than revising curricula: it requires inclusive, affective, and critical pedagogical practices, as well as the construction of spaces that welcome the diversity of knowledge, trajectories, and subjectivities. It is concluded that a critical education, committed to equity and social justice, is essential for promoting mental health in the academic environment.