This page was created by Collin Hardwick.
Mignolo and Walsh, On Decoloniality
Discipline/Field: Postcolonial and Colonial Studies, Cultural Studies
Year: 2018
Main Arguments & Concepts
Mignolo and Walsh begin On Decoloniality with an acknowledgement of the limits of their work: “For us to think that we are in possession of a decolonial universal truth would not be decolonial at all but modern / colonial” (1). This claim not only jump-starts their criticism of academic research practices, but also hints at their connection between colonialism and modernity. It seems like they will explore this more in later chapters, but it appears that they correlate colonialism, an ideology of independence, and capitalism/neoliberalism. An opposing force to colonialism, which they are careful to note is not a panacea, is relationality, for which they use the term/metaphor “vincularidad” -- “the awareness of the integral relation and interdependence amongst all living organisms (in which humans are only a part) with territory or land and the cosmos” (1).My main take-aways from the Mignolo & Walsh are 1) there needs to be a focus on re-emergence and decolonial creation, as well as resistance. Non-western epistemologies still exist, and can be / are being cultivated. 2) Coloniality and modernity are two sides of the same coin (but naming coloniality is a decolonial act; otherwise it is treated as invisible/over). Modernity is a 16th century term, and M&W claim that it began in Middle Ages, with the Renaissance being the first peak, the Enlightenment being the second (110). Modernity created colonialism through universalizing its own cosmology/epistemology. 3) Academic institutions are colonialist entities. Research can create subject/object relationships that echo and reinforce first-world/third-world; human/primitive; culture/nature. These binaries come from Ancient Greek thought, particularly Aristotle.
Research
“The term ‘research’ is inextricably linked to European imperialism and colonialism ... This collective memory of imperialism has been perpetuated through the ways in which knowledge about indigenous peoples was collected, classified and then represented in various ways back to the West, and then, through the eyes of the West, back to those who have been colonized” (26).
Walsh’s observation of “studying about vs. thinking with” (28) in academic will be extremely valuably e when thinking about conducting research.
Quotes
“Ethnic groups who built their own imaginary on the idea of Europe were also Indigenous. However, their own vocabulary tells us the indigenous are people originating in specific countries or regions outside of Europe. But rhetoric of modernity made us believe that Indigenous were non-Europeans needing European universal religion and secular sciences and philosophy to become civilized and developed; that is, modern (121).Notes
While Mignolo and Walsh do not advocate for a singular prescription for decoloniality/liberation, they do believe that the theories are actionable: “Decoloniality’s aims are to delink from the colonial matrix of power ... in order to imagine and engage in becoming decolionali subjects. But delinking is only the first step. What follows is living decolonially; that is, assuming and engaging decolonial options” (125). This is a significant departure from some poststructuralist theorists, who tend to portray the world as fixed, without any opportunity to resist harmful discourse of power.Mignolo and Walsh caution against a simplistic posthumanism as a means to avoid the problems as humanism: “As a decolonial thinker, once I know what Human/Man means, I do not want to be human. But instead of simply rejecting its content and adding a prefix (posthuman), decolonial thinkers start by asking how these concepts came into being: when, why, how, and what for?” (171). In other words, it is important to look into the foundation of ‘humanity,’ rather than brush it under the proverbial ‘post-’ rug. However, it is worth considering posthumanists that do look at these foundations.
Related
Tuck and Yang, “Decolonization is not a metaphor”Spivak, “Can the Subaltern Speak?”
Wemigwans, A Digital Bundle
