Is Europe Going to Contract?

In episode 8, we look to the writings of Aimé Césaire to guide a conversation about colonialism, neocolonialism, and anti-colonial thought and struggle. Focusing especially on his 1950 Discourse on Colonialism and his 1956 letter to Maurice Thorez—in which he explains his resignation from French Communist Party—we discuss the subjective and objective ‘boomerang effects’ of colonialism on colonizing countries, the tensions between particularism and universalism in putatively global left politics, the relationship between colonialism and capitalism, and the state of neocolonial domination and exploitation.

Aimé Césaire, Discourse on Colonialism. Ed. Robin D.G. Kelly. Monthly Review Press, 2000.

Aimé Césaire, “Letter to Maurice Thorez”, trans. Chike Jeffers, Social Text 28.2 (2010): 145-52.

Silvia Federici, "War, Globalization, and Reproduction," in Revolution at Point Zero. PM Press, 2012.

Paul Gilroy, Against Race: Imagining Political Culture beyond the Color Line. Harvard University Press, 2002.

Music: "Vintage Memories" by Schematist | schematist.bandcamp.com