Decolonising the Human: Reflections from Africa on difference and oppression

by Melissa E. Steyn (Editor), William Mpofu (Editor)

Decolonising the Human examines the ongoing project of constituting ‘the human’ in light of the durability of coloniality and the persistence of multiple oppressions

The ‘human’ emerges as a deeply political category, historically constructed as a scarce existential resource. Once weaponised, it allows for the social, political and economic elevation of those who are centred within its magic circle, and the degradation, marginalisation and immiseration of those excluded as the different and inferior Other, the less than human.

Speaking from Africa, a key site where the category of the human has been used throughout European modernity to control, exclude and deny equality of being, the contributors use decoloniality as a potent theoretical and philosophical tool, gesturing towards a liberated, pluriversal world where human difference will be recognised as a gift, not used to police the boundaries of the human. Here is a transdisciplinary critical exploration of a wide range of subjects, including history, politics, philosophy, sociology, anthropology and decolonial studies.

328 pages, Hardcover

Published February 1, 2021

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

"This means that at a global level, achieving consensus must involve reconciling the will to live of the small island society of Fiji with that of the bigger society of the United Kingdom, rather than being based on the current reality where the former is expected to make sacrifices in the interest of the latter, because the dominant always have their way. Lasting and true consensus cannot be imposed by violence or other acts of domination driven by the will to power over others. This can only create a momentary quietness as the oppressed think about how next to express their will to live – by revolutionary violence, subversion, or other subtler ways of fighting".

Good collection of essays, lots of notes taken.