Decolonial and Ontological Challenges in Social and Anthropological Theory

Abstract

In this article, I examine the conceptual and methodological points of convergence and divergence of two intellectual currents frequently referred to as the decolonial and ontological turns in social and anthropological theory. Salient points considered are the ways both theoretical projects unsettle modernity’s dominant ontological and epistemological foundations by seriously engaging the conceptual potential of thinking with (ethical dimension) alterity and from (geopolitical dimension) exteriority. I compare their subversive methodological contributions, examining, in particular, Enrique Dussel’s analectical hermeneutic approach and Eduardo Viveiros de Castro’s ethnographic method of controlled equivocation. Lastly, I discuss how both theories and approaches complement each other’s efforts to destabilize Western modernity’s philosophical and anthropological foundations.

An Intersectional Approach to Equity, Inequity, and Archaeology

“…For other communities, such as Indigenous communities, archaeology may be considered a relational ceremony (Tuhiwai Smith 2012; Wilson 2008). Decolonization, in practice, challenges the material systems perpetuating colonialism (e.g., Fúnez-Flores 2022). For example, land acknowledgments are increasingly made, for example, at conferences and universities, and in email signatures, but whom do they serve—the Native communities they acknowledge or the non-Native communities who present them?…”

An Indigenous critique: Expanding sociology and recognizing unique Indigenous knowledge

“…Indigenous American thought is barely mentioned, and Indigenous American scholars are equally rarely mentioned. Indigenous scholars like Jairo Fúnez-Flores have highlighted that postcolonialism still maintains a largely Eurocentric/Francocentric focus (Fúnez-Flores, 2022 ) conceptually and in practice. This is important because Indigenous pragmatism and thought are present in the very ideas that Go mentions as core to the postcolonial framework, even unintentional omissions such as this continue to perpetuate internal colonialism and their omission weakens analyses of Indigenous communities under these frameworks.…”

“…This call for recognition of Indigenous philosophies and frameworks is already an established tradition, but it has received little attention by much of Global North scholarship. Scholars like Jairo Fúnez-Flores are publishing important articles that highlight the strong and determined resistance of Global North academies and institutions to Indigenous knowledge and frameworks (Fúnez-Flores, 2022) as well as engaging with these ideas in a public sociology through the medium of social networks like Twitter. Additionally, the important canon of work from prominent scholar Pablo González Casanova-father of sociology in Mexico and Zapatista comandante-constitute what he calls the Theory of the Jungle/Theory of the Rain Forest (González Casanova, 1998).…”

“…The Zapatista movement is not only resurrecting these Indigenous philosophies—they are applying them on the ground to free Indigenous Americans (North and South) from the oppressions of ongoing colonialism (Schools for Chiapas, 2022 ; Sánchez-Antonio, 2022 ). Though epistemic justice (de Sousa Santos, 2014 ) is critical, this does not mean that European and US knowledge is disavowed, ignored, or otherwise repressed—that is a Westernized essentialist notion (Fúnez-Flores, 2022 :5–7) which is in direct opposition to the plurality of thought and being that Indigenous traditions advocate for as an inherent principle to life and society (Pratt, 2002 ; Sánchez-Antonio, 2022 ).…”

Decolonizing Zemiology: Outlining and Remedying the Blindness to (Post)colonialism Within the Study of Social Harm

“…(Bhambra and Holmwood 2021 : 209). Fúnez-Flores ( 2022 : 26) has recently argued similar, noting that decolonial theory should work towards reconceptualising our current ‘social totality’ as the ‘modern/colonial capitalist world system’. It is within this remit that this paper works.…”