Summer Bonus EP: Decolonizing Marxism (w/Boaventura de Sousa Santos)

Writing in 19th century Europe, Karl Marx was reflecting a time and place: Europe in the wake of the closing years of the Industrial Revolution. Marx himself, later in life, recognized that his crowning work, Das Kapital, had a limited scope, fitted for Europe but not for the rest of the world. In the 21st century, Marxism must speak to the experiences and context of contemporary colonialism and Indigenous politics if it is to remain current, internationalist, and anti-colonial. On this summer bonus episode of Darts and Letters, we speak with Boaventura de Sousa Santos, a global Marxist thinker, Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Coimbra (Portugal), and Distinguished Legal Scholar at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He argues for a contemporary, decolonial Marxism that operates on a deeper conception of power and oppression that includes analyses of colonialism, gender, and race across borders.

——————-FURTHER READING AND LISTENING——————

• Take a look at Boaventura de Sousa’s books The End of Cognitive Empire, Decolonizing the University, and—a book we discuss in the interview—Epistemologies of the South: Justice Against Epistemicide.
• Read his articles, including “Some Theses on Decolonizing History,” “Epistemologies of the South and the Future,” and “Public Sphere Epistemologies of the South.”
• Check out his homepage, with more links to articles, book chapters, books, and plenty more.

—————————-CONTACT US————————-

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——————-SUPPORT THE SHOW——————-

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—————————-CREDITS—————————-

This week, Darts and Letters is co-hosted by Jay Cockburn, who is also our lead producer. The producer for this episode is Ren Bangert. Our editor, usual host, and co-host for this episode is Gordon Katic. Our managing producer is Marc Apollonio. David Moscrop wrote the show notes.

Our theme song and music was created by Mike Barber, our graphic design was created by Dakota Koop, and our marketing was done by Ian Sowden.

This episode received support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research, which provided us a research grant to look at the concept of “public intellectualism.” Professor Allen Sens at the University of British Columbia is the lead academic advisor. This is also part of a wider project looking at neoliberal educational reforms, led by Professor Marc Spooner at the University of Regina.

Darts and Letters is produced in Toronto, which is on the traditional land of Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat Peoples. It is also produced in Vancouver, BC, which is on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.