RELIGION & ECONOMY IN HISTORY
The seminar focuses, chronologically, around the middle of eighteenth century when the dominance of theological discourse began to be displaced by the emergence of political economy (the French Physiocrats, Adam Smith). Spatially, on the changing landscape in the colonies, from Spanish and Portuguese theological lead empires to the French and British economical lead nascent imperialisms (Dalby Thomas). This moment in history witnessed the emergence, in the West, of World Religion (parallel to Goethe’s World Literature). At this point, Smith theory of sentiments connects economy with aesthetics.
Moving back to the sixteenth century and forward to the twentieth and twentieth first century, the seminar will explore the conflicts and complicities between these two discursive formations from the perspective of the colonies. My own take will be grounded on the legacies, in South America, of dependency theory and theology of liberation. Since I am neither an economist nor a theologian, my own take and perspective is grounded on the de-colonial project that emerged from the analytic of modernity/coloniality, in which I have been engaged and exploring in the past decade.
THE HISPANIC CHALLENGE
In 2005 noted Harvard political scientist, Sammuel Huntington, published an influential article, "The Hispanic Challenge" that then became part of his book, Who Are We? What constitute the Hispanic Challenges? Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez? Migrant workers? The uprising of April and May of 2006? The transformation of knowledge and understanding that Hispanics, Afro-Caribbean, Native Americans, Women of Color are introducing?
This seminar, already in its seventh year, is an attempt to introduce students to the understanding of the historical foundation of racism (and its relationship with knoweldge, politics and ethics) through the emergence of Hispanics and Latinas in the US in the 1970's . Indeed, where are Hispanics or Latinas coming from? How do they fit in the ethno-racial pentagon (White, Native Americans, Afro-Americans and Asian Americans?). And what are the connections between the ethno-racial pentagon in the US and globalization? Where, indeed, is Latinidad coming from? The seminar explores, also, the interconnections between identity, knowledge and politics, distinguishing identity politics from identity IN politics and the politics of identity both in politics and in scientific knowledge.
Students will be introduced also to issues in the Humanities through trans-disciplinary thinking grounded in the department of Romance Studies and cross-listed with African and Afro-American Studies, Cultural Anthropology, Literature and History.
The seminar will be conducted in English. Reading will be in English and/or Spanish depending on student’s needs and desires.
Previous Courses
THE IDEA OF LATIN AMERICA
The idea of Latin America, as invented and created by European imperial powers and maintained by United States emerging imperialism at the turn of the twentieth century, in complicity with local Creole and Mestizo elites. Perspective on the geo- and body- politics of knowledge being enacted by radical intellectuals, indigenous and Afro-social movements, and the Social Forum of the Americas, to open up a new understanding of the global order and global power relations today. This undergraduate course is taught by Walter Mignolo.
CRITICAL COSMOPOLITANISM
Co-directed by Walter Mignolo and Romand Coles, this seminar provides a forum for faculty members and students to explore the possibilities for imagining cosmopolitan futures that extend beyond the bounds of modern "Cosmopolitanisms," which are deeply entwined with national, imperial, and Eurocentric norms and practices. Imagining alternative cosmopolitan futures which are more dia(pluri)logical and radically democratic, begins by interrogating the regional limits of Western political theory and political economy, and seriously engaging alternative visions taking form in various locations around the world. Participants must therefore stand at the confluence of ethics and epistemology, questioning the nature, sources and meanings of power.
WHY
HISPANICS ARE NOT WHITE:
RACE AND GLOBALIZATION
If you think of "race" as a question of skin color, you may have
difficulty understanding the connection between skin color and globalization,
which is usually thought of as financial and technological. Furthermore, "Hispanics" don't
seem to be classified by skin color. Who are "Hispanics," when they
(we) come from many countries and have many different skin colors? What is
our language? What is our religion? And above all, who decided that there is
a group of people identified as "Hispanics"? Is there any "essential" and
visible trait or feature that identifies people by their "ethnicity"?
Is religion related to race and ethnicity? What are the differences between
race and ethnicity? And what about coloniality? And modernity? Are "Hispanics" an
ethnic group? And what are the relationships between "ethnic groups," citizenship,
nationality, and rights (human rights)? These are just some of the questions
this undergraduate seminar seeks to answer.
GLOBAL
COLONIALITY FROM THE SPANISH EMPIRE TO THE U.S.
Focusing on the foundation of the modern/colonial world, this upper-level graduate
course traces out the similarities and differences among modern empires. Topics
covered include race, gender, ethnicity, and how each of these "identities" relates
to the coloniality of power. Readings by thinkers such as Franz Hinkelammert,
Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui and Dominic Lieven illustrate these concepts.
EMPIRES
CLASH: RELIGION, POWER AND CIVILIZATION
This undergraduate course, co-taught by Ebrahim Moosa and Walter Mignolo, seeks
to find an alternative to the now popular ideology of an inevitable "clash
of civilizations." We will focus on imperial power and examine its relations
with religious traditions and civilizing projects. The course will rely on
historical approaches, cultural analyses, and philosophical investigations
into the constitution of imperial power and its unfolding dynamics of global
conflict. Among the variety of imperial formations and religious traditions
that will be examined, we will focus on the Middle East and the Americas.
last updated August 2007