Radical Sovereignties

Catalog description

In the last few decades, the nation-state has increasingly ceased to be the main referent for radical imaginaries that aim for liberation and overall wellbeing. The dissolution of the Soviet Union; the rise of identity politics, of multiculturalism and of neoliberal logics; the aftermaths of hurricanes Katrina and Maria; and the overall disillusionment with liberal democratic institutions and with postcolonial statecraft have all been central to this dampening of expectations. Increasingly, those who imagine different futures have focused their efforts on the strengthening of communal and trans-local sovereignties through a variety of means foregrounding survival and thriving through the healing of relationships to self, to others, to the land, and beyond. In this course, we will work through the meaning of sovereignty in the current moment by delving into particular examples throughout the Americas. Texts may include the volume and film Aftershocks of Disaster , the films Escuelas Pal Pueblo and Warrior Women , the multimedia Puerto Rico Syllabus , the books The Nation on No Map and Critical Sovereignties , and other resources from movements in México and Brazil.