Academic Srila Roy addresses xenophobia and decoloniality in new book

Academic Srila Roy published a book titled Dissonant Intimacies: Feminist Reflections on Southern Decoloniality with Wits University Press.

The work explores the tensions of decolonial feminist politics in the Global South and addresses the controversy that led to Roy's suspension and removal as the head of the sociology department at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. Roy acknowledges that a tweet she posted in February 2026 reinforced harmful racial stereotypes.

She explains that she intended the post as an ironic defense of African scholars against growing xenophobic hostility in South African universities, where critics claimed international academics from countries like Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Nigeria were taking jobs from South Africans. Roy admits that the provocation failed because her words were overshadowed by the country's history of racial inequality. The book examines the intersections of curriculum reform, identity, and power in higher education.

Roy reflects on her experiences as a South Asian scholar in South Africa, drawing on movements such as the Fees Must Fall protests and India's #MeToo movement. She argues that the Global South is a site of productive tension rather than a unified project, and she calls for new intellectual infrastructures rooted in the South.