Week 7: Decolonial Studies

Readings

This week’s featured image is by Luna Enriquez,
and it was found on Lhakar Diaries.

Required: Simpson, Leanne, Dancing on our Turtle’s Back (Ch 1. plus 2 of your choice); Simpson, Islands of Decolonial Love: Exploring Love on Occupied Land (She also has a book with a similar title, but given our compressed time frame, I’d just like you to watch her talk, run time 1:11:40); Thiong’o Decolonising the Mind (Intro); Million, Dian, “Felt Theory: An Indigenous Feminist Approach to Affect and History” , NMAI: The Changing Presentation of the American Indian (ebook–Intro, Ch.6); A Tribe Called Red “Electric Powwow” (video), “We are the Halluci Nation” (feat. John Trudell)

Options (Pick 1 to explore. I do not expect you to get through any one of these texts in its entirety): Smith, Decolonizing Methodologies (for more on methodology); Perez, Decolonial Imaginary (historiography, social activism); Mignolo, Darker Side of Western Modernity (theory)

I’m working on some discussion questions for you now. I’ll put them up when I open the Week 7 discussion forum, tomorrow. I’ll also likely edit this post to add some resources to assist you between now and then.

Mini-paper?

There’s a dropbox open for mini-papers open until 11:59 on 7/21. The next (and final) opportunity will be 8/4. Remember, you need to do three total this term. You’ll find more info, and prompts, on our resources page.

For fun:

Here’s a wonderful (2005) documentary on John Trudell.