Cultural Geographies· 2013Q1
Decolonizing posthumanist geographies
- 830citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2013year
Short summary
This paper critiques how posthumanist geography, while aiming to decolonize, often reproduces colonial knowledge systems through universalizing claims. It identifies two specific Eurocentric performances within the field.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Posthumanist geography can unintentionally perpetuate colonial knowledge by making universalizing claims.
- The paper identifies and analyzes two specific Eurocentric performances within posthumanist geographical scholarship.
- It advocates for decolonizing geographical writing ('geo-graphs') to be more open to non-Eurocentric ontologies.
- Learnings from Indigenous, decolonial theorizing, and the Zapatistas inform the proposed steps for decolonization.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
This paper engages my struggles to craft geo-graphs or earth writings that also further broaden political goals of decolonizing the discipline of geography. To this end, I address a body of literature roughly termed ‘posthumanism’ because it offers powerful tools to identify and critique dualist constructions of nature and culture that work to uphold Eurocentric knowledge and the colonial present. However, I am discomforted by the ways in which geographical engagements with posthumanism tend to reproduce colonial ways of knowing and being by enacting universalizing claims and, consequently, further subordinating other ontologies. Building from this discomfort, I elaborate a critique of geographical-posthumanist engagements. Taking direction from Indigenous and decolonial theorizing, the paper identifies two Eurocentric performances common in posthumanist geographies and analyzes their implications. I then conclude with some thoughts about steps to decolonize geo-graphs. To this end, I take up learnings offered by the Zapatistas. My goal is to foster geographical engagements open to conversing with and walking alongside other epistemic worlds.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Cultural Geographies, 2013 · DOI ↗
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Field: Geography, Planning and Development
Geography, Planning and DevelopmentSocial Sciences