Wednesday, May 25
3:30 - 5:00
Humanities 1, Room 210
Abstract
How is it possible to “understand” diverse worlds while also respecting differences? This methodological question leads us to the study of epistemic politics, but a radical understanding of differences could also lead us to the deconstruction of all assertions in order to avoid the symbolic violence that emerges when we interpret multiple worlds. At the same time, renouncing all possibilities of knowing and making claims is a privilege that the subaltern does not have. Making claims allows us to create conditions of possibility for solidarity, struggle, and action. And yet, how is it possible to ask for the transformation of something that is “oppressive” while also respecting differences? How is it possible to define what is “colonialism” and to create a decolonial praxis while also encompassing difference even at the level of epistemic politics? These questions can be answered by fruitfully sustaining the dilemma or paradox that they present to us. In turn, this tension teaches us to create a different kind of decolonial approach, enabling action while also treasuring the reflexivity and circularity of a much more humble starting point. From here, intersectional decoloniality aims towards the possibility of knowing, being, and enacting a context-dependent multiplicity of struggles, voices, and projects simultaneously. Additionally, this query carries us towards an examination of what needs to change in order to understand, be, and enact more multiplicity: What transformation does decoloniality demand in order to create possibilities of co-being, co-knowing, and co-enacting?
About
Marcos S. Scauso is an Assistant Professor of Political Science in the Department of Philosophy and Political Science at Quinnipiac University. Previously, he was a research fellow at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame. His research lies at the intersection of International Relations and identity politics, with a concentration on indigenous voices in post-colonial Latin America and issues of intersectionality. Marcos Scauso holds a Ph.D. in Political Science, with a primary focus on International Relations and secondary interests in Political Theory, from the University of California, Irvine. He has directed two research documentaries about indigenous activisms in Argentina and Bolivia, which inspired his current book project. Intersectional Decoloniality: Reimagining IR and the Problem of Difference builds on extensive fieldwork in Bolivia to discuss indigenous voices that provide new pathways for reimagining how we conceptualize the problem of difference in International Relations, the continuing impact of legacies of colonialism, and the prospects for global peace and coexistence. Beyond his research, Marcos Scauso has taught classes such as Introduction to International Relations, International Relations Theory, Issues in Politics, Global Citizenship, and Development, Globalization, and Colonialisms. He also works in numerous committees and institutional spaces to promote diversity, equality, and inclusivity.
