There seems a parallel between Mignolo’s “Delinking” (the uncoupling of the western narrative of history from the narrative of colonialism) and Cathy Davidson’s “New Education.” Across eight chapters, Davidson tracks the history of the University system and its operational tentacles (course specialization, admissions processes, tuition fees, grading systems, etc.). She counters these educational traditions by […]
o meu avô
Na sua Pedagogia das Pedras, Jesusa Rodriguez nos conta como o nascimento é a materialização da energia vital que está dispersa e atuante no Universo. Ao nascermos, essa energia primordial se torna uma pequena faísca, que habita o nosso coração. Para nos reencontrarmos com a nossa vitalidade, é necessário travar a Xochi-Yolotl (flor-coração), a Guerra […]
The tiger and the jabutis
While I write this short response paper, there is an election happening in Brazil. I find quite ironic the fact that I am discussing the idea of being presente, as presented by Diana Taylor (2018), while feeling the frustration of not being there. There is a sense of being powerless about something as huge as […]
Marielle, Presente!
When we gathered around the streets of Rio de Janeiro after the execution of black, lesbian councilor Marielle Franco, we hopelessly shouted “Marielle, Presente!” multiple times. Marielle and her driver were shot dead on 14 March, in a targeted assassination which unleashed a wave of anger across Brazil, and provoked urgent debate on the country’s racism, violence and […]
Ana Hina! Ana Hini! Ana Hown!
My tongue has always been my biggest sensory of confusion, it is why learning Spanish was a necessary transition from my colonizing split between English and Arabic, mi propia existencia “rajada” (Anzaldua). What can our presence create in between our ancestors’ walkways of history and the current political time? Anzaldua describes in her book, […]
¿Presente? A challenge
Diana Taylor poses a question in her book ¡Presente! that, for me, the central challenge of this course: How to be present ethically, as a scholar, an activist, and a human being—with/ to/ among the many people struggling against a virulent brew of Latin/ American colonial-imperialist- capitalist-authoritarian violence? (Taylor 25) I say challenge, and I mean that […]
Class 5 Notes from 10/15/2018
Epistemologies – a record of our discussion on 10/15/2018 By Text: “Sp’ijilal O’tan: Knowledges and Epistemologies of the Heart” by Juan López Intzín (Xuno) “Systems of care and healing that include midwifery, dreams…” Systems of knowing differently, and knowing different things. Different systems of knowledge The creation of knowledge through translation Having a “child eye” […]
The tapas and the panopticon
Let’s imagine the following scene: 16th Century. A person enters a bar or posada (a male most certainly) and asks the bartender for a glass of wine. With the wine comes a tapa (a culinary specialty to acompany the drink that dates from the Middle Ages). The tapa is in this case a slice of […]
Past Tense, Future Perfect
“Past tense, future perfect” is a combination of words oft-used by author Zadie Smither in her 1999 novel White Teeth about immigrant identities and dehumanization in late 20th century London. Something between past and future is a desiring, unrepresented present. This gap is widened by the the physicality of “tense” versus the grammatical association of […]
Tradução como Xjul Xch’ulel
Todos os seres são dotados de potência. Aprender a nomear com palavras traz uma outra direção na existência. O coração irá se perder, desviar do rumo. Apagar-se por instantes, deixando-se para trás. Uma febre. Mas o coração sabe retornar ao seu prumo. A família é construção de pertencimento. O acúmulo de todas as memórias, a […]