"These Indians never learn"... University, racism and interculturality in Peru

Kay indiokuna mana hayk’aqpas yachankuchu… Perú suyupi hatun yachay wasi, ch’eqmi kausay, tinkuykuna nisqamantawan

Abstract

This article aims to critically discuss the continuity of old colonial structures in the Peruvian university that prevent its transformation into a relevant institution that responds to the cultural diversity of the country. Given that the university continues to operate under the monocultural and hegemonic perspective of westernized knowledge that invisibilizes and folklorizes the knowledge and worlds of other Andean, Amazonian, and Afro-descendant peoples. A brief historical reference is made on the colonial encounter and the mechanisms of power in which the university is constituted as an elite institution that operates under European models from colonial times to the present. Based on this idea, the essay seeks to reflect on experiences of national universities with groups of students of ethnic origin in the first decades of the 21st century, specifically affirmative action programs in which the author had experience as a student and later as a teacher in two public universities. To address the issue, the paper is organized into three sections: the domination and colonial heritage of the Peruvian university; cultural diversity, racism, and the university; intercultural emergency in the university and final ideas.