Decolonial Theories

How do we conceptually engage the question of decolonization? What is the nature of its conceptual antithesis from which it seeks its complete separation? Decolonization has become a metaphor for decentering the hegemony of Eurocentrism and re-positioning normative epistemologies and ontologies to include subaltern and marginalized ways of knowing, being, and doing. This course is a critical interrogation of the theories, philosophies, processes, and accounts of colonialism and decolonization. The aim is to chart critical paths to rethinking the meaning and impact of these concepts. By interrogating how normative concepts, ideas, theories, and philosophies affirming the legitimacy of colonialism were employed and deployed to subjugate, exploit, and dominate colonized subjects, the course affirms a critical practice that opens new spaces for rethinking the conceptual occupation of decolonization. In this course, we will survey the core texts that have spurred decolonial theories and movements in Africa and the Americas. However, given that decolonial discourse now touches on nearly every aspect of society — past, present, and future — the topics covered in this course will by no means be exhaustive, but are designed to open intellectual space for renewed debates about the meaning and conceptual boundaries of decolonial theories.