RP4: Coloniality, Colonialism, and Mignolo

Colonialism saddens me, and in a large scheme Mignolo does not support the idea that coloniality is permanent; however, when applying his theory to our daily lives, I have a hard time understanding the ways in which colonialism can be entirely dismantled.  I understand that there are methods which can be applied to anti-colonialism to render its effectiveness, but on a large scale I think that the demolition of colonialism is impossible.

Unfortunately, I am working from a limited perspective and I do not yet have the scope to conceive of the abolition of colonialism.  Considering the ways in which the land of The People has been historically* misused, it will be difficult to adjust all of the structures which were quickly assembled, but built to last and endure.  To an extent, colonial structures were built with a form of survivance in mind.  Once one group is colonized, it almost seems as though the quickest form of reconciliation or retribution is through the colonization of another group of people.  Now, is this to say that I am assuming colonization can only be dismantled in a matter of years?  No.  It is to say that I believe that coloniality will take decades to erase, and I do not see the lifespan of humanity occupying the same lengthy lifespan.

To reiterate, my perspective is limited.  I began reading with the idea that the lifespan of humanity after 2014 is waning.  This limited view constricted me and did not allow me to completely agree with Mignolo's theory.  Although I agree that colonialism is the the "hated little sister" which the family attempts to disguise as modernization, or progress, or development, and I partially agree that "the decolonization of knowledge and subjectivity through the imagination of alternatives to capitalism and alternatives to the modern state and its reliance on military power... is taking place" (Mignolo, 85); however, I do not believe it has garnered sufficient support to be considered ultimately successful.  I also do not believe there is a way for these movements to be greatly successful until all of colonialism is disbanded.

Now this post is not in any way a means to say that I have the answer to ending colonialism.  It is also not not an attempt to say that Mignolo's theory was not brilliant.  Instead it is to say I do not entirely agree with his theory.

*the use of the term historical is not to confine this text to the European, Greco Abrahamic linearity of time, but merely to contextualize my thoughts through a method that is familiar.

Making Hegemony and Dominance not mutually exclusive

Making Hegemony and Dominance not mutually exclusive

             

            The fact that hegemony and dominance are not mutually exclusive is a concept that I believe can only be fully understood when colonization is considered.  When researching the definition of hegemony the term dominance is often used within the definition and in colloquial speech they quite often used interchangeable. This truth points to the ever-impressive power of language as a tool of oppression, which is often only combated in intellectual settings. That is why it is so influential that as Mignolo points out “with the Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Andean movements, knowledge is increasingly the key site of struggle.” (Mignolo, 115) Those fighting must use the tools of language to combat misunderstandings and re-evaluate our definitions of words whose meaning has the power to misconstrue the freedom and governance of a nation. “The awareness, however, that what is dominant is not necessarily hegemonic is awakening; and hegemony like the stock market, is becoming diversified.” So much of how colonization is able to survive is based off of misplaced understandings of hegemonic control.  Numbers twisted and spun in order to calculate an understanding of “the majority group” when the definitions that divide are being constructed by those in the dominant position of control.  Until we fully separate hegemony and dominance, colonization will continue to be the narrative of governance in most of the world. 

Week Eight: Mignolo: The Idea of Latin America pp. 82-88

1.     Colonialism:  p. 83

2.     “explicit [colonial] projects described in positive terms, like civilization, development and democracy” p. 84  NB:  remember the Maggot Brain (and think, think, it ain’t illegal yet, especially in terms of language, and shows like “democracy now”)

3.     Eurocentrism:  p. 84

4.     Modernity:  p. 84

5.     Colonization of Time:  p. 84

6.     Colonialism (Fanon):  p. 84

7.     “The simple difference was how global designs were received—not conceived—by people imbued with other histories and speaking different languages.”  p. 85

8.     Decolonization:  political not epistemic, p. 85, post Césaire, Fanon, and 1990s, and “independence” p. 86

9.     “Conceiving of themselves as a ‘Latin’ race”  p. 86 and independence and nation-state building p. 86

10.  Class and Europe p. 87

11.  Race and the Americas p. 87-88

12.  Pay special attention to note 33 on page 172-3 in relation to the rhetoric of modernity and the logic of coloniality