Colonization

Stokely Speaks

Stokely Speaks

Stokely Carmichael, better known as Kwame Ture, gave a number speeches and penned articles and letters, which were gathered in “Stokely Speaks: From Black Power to Pan-Africanism” (1965), with multiple prints and new Forwards added with each new print. A few quotes: “I wouldn’t be the first to point out the American capacity for self-delusion. One […]

Tags: #Colonization #Kwame Ture #Racism #Stokely Carmichael #Stokely Speaks

Thought Provokers
Against Decolonization

Against Decolonization

In 2022, Olufemi Taiwo published “Against Decolonization: Taking African Agency Seriously” in the African Arguments series by Hurst. The book is provocative and makes some valuable contributions. I also find that the book has some faulty arguments of the straw man and red herring types. For example, in defining decolonization the way he does (see […]

Tags: #Against Decolonization #Agency #Colonization #decolonization #Olufemi Taiwo

Thought Provokers
Ali Shariati and the Future of Social Theory

Ali Shariati and the Future of Social Theory

Ali Shariati was an Iranian scholar and philosopher (1933-1977), argued to be one of the foremost intellectuals influencing the Iranian Revolution. Ali Shariati and the Future of Social Theory: Religion, Revolution, and the Role of the Intellectual (2017), edited by Byrd and Miri, revisits the ideas of Ali Shariati for contemporary and future of social sciences. […]

Tags: #Ali Shariati #Colonization #Exploitation #Faith #Social Theory

Thought Provokers
Loss and Recovery of Self Under Colonialism

Loss and Recovery of Self Under Colonialism

Ashis Nandy’s “The Intimate Enemy: Loss and Recovery of Self Under Colonialism” (1983) is a classic postcolonial text from the Asian experience. One note I found fascinating was that this author found inspiration in the writings of African revolutionaries, finding little from what he was reading from the region he lived within. Through this we […]

Tags: #Ashis Nandy #Colonialism #Colonization #Conformity #Dissent

Thought Provokers
Shaykh Ahmadou Bamba

Shaykh Ahmadou Bamba

Shaykh Ahmadou Bamba lived from 1853 to 1927 in Senegal (excepting periods of exile), who was a religious leader and leader who opposed French colonization. His resistance took non-violent means and was a constant threat to the French. Kimball wrote a biography of Bamba, subtitled “A Peacemaker of Our Time” (2018). The book is not an academic […]

Tags: #Ahmadou Bamba #Colonial Agenda #Colonization #French #Senegal

Thought Provokers
Culture and Imperialism

Culture and Imperialism

 Edward Said’s Orientalism (1978) is a foundational text in critical studies, as of this writing was cited nearly 70,000 times. In 1993 Said wrote Culture and Imperialism, which broadens the view, broadens the literature, and engages more literature from the liberation activists and writers, but is cited less (at of this writing nearly 30,000; which […]

Tags: #Colonization #Culture #Edward Said #Imperialism #Revolution

Thought Provokers
Discourse on Colonialism

Discourse on Colonialism

Aime Cesaire is one of the great voices of the anti-colonial struggle and was the teacher of Fanon (Black Skin, White Masks & The Wretched of the Earth). Cesaire’s “Discourse on Colonialism” was originally published in French in 1950, the English version I am using was translated in 1972 and republished in 2000. For the […]

Tags: #Aime Cesaire #Capitalism #Colonization #decolonization #Discourse on Colonialism

Thought Provokers
Necropolitics

Necropolitics

Achille Mbembe is not as well-known as he should be. One reason is that much of his work is written in French (although more translations are becoming available). I suspect this Cameroonian philosopher and critical scholar will become increasingly well-known in the years to come. This is essential reading (as is his Critique of Black […]

Tags: #Achille Mbembe #Colonization #Democratic values #Necropolitics #Racism

Uncategorized
Indigenous Pathways of Action and Freedom

Indigenous Pathways of Action and Freedom

Taiaiake Alfred’s “Wasase: Indigenous Pathways of Action and Freedom” (2009) was recommended to me, as I sought out a book (or parts of a book) that might be used to introduce undergraduate students to ethical and justice issues of colonialism in Canada. In some ways, it is similar to Ngugi’s work on decolonizing the mind, […]

Tags: #Colonization #decolonization #Indigenous #Reconciliation #Taiaiake

Thought Provokers
Slaves into Workers

Slaves into Workers

For those interested in the history of slavery in contexts other than the trans-Atlantic slave trade, Ahmad Alawad Sikainga’s “Slaves into Workers: Emancipation and Labor in Colonial Sudan” (1996) provides a detailed account of the rise and demise of slavery within the Sudan. “In the broadest sense”, Ahmad writes, “this book examines slave emancipation and […]

Tags: #Colonial #Colonization #Slavery #South Sudan #Sudan

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