Migrations Programme - [04/17/2008]

European colonial expansion and domination constructed a hierarchy of knowledge

Santiago Castro-Gómez, Ramón Grosfoguel and Walter Mignolo participated in the series of conferences titled “De-colonial Turn and Western Universalisms. Debates on border thinking”, hosted by the CIDOB Foundation on 25, 26 and 27 March.

Arguing from the standpoint of different disciplines, the speakers presented various aspects of de-colonial theory and linked it with the geopolitics of knowledge. Grosfoguel argued that European colonial domination and expansion constructed a hierarchy of superior knowledge opposed to inferior knowledge, which means (in the words of the black American feminists) that epistemology possesses a specific colour and sexuality. Grosfoguel developed the de-colonial theory through an analysis of the work of Aime Cesaire, while Santiago Castro-Gómez did the same by analysing the academic discourse of Michel Foucault. In the opinion of Castro-Gómez, Foucault developed a heterarchical theory of power that could be employed as a counterpoint to demonstrate the problems that accompany the hierarchical theories used to examine the issue of coloniality. Meanwhile, Walter Mignolo presented an interesting reflection on the geopolitics of knowledge through an analysis of Sylvia Wynter's contributions in comparison with those of Hanna Arendt.

The conferences formed part of a wider series that featured the participation of the Complutense University of Madrid and the Autonomous University of Barcelona.

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