Brave New Worlds: An Introduction to (De)colonial Rhetorics

Since the time of Columbus, colonial agendas and policies have engendered their own rhetorics of justification and explanation. After all, European modernism began with the encounter of the New World, and Europe¿s own identity was forged in the process of ¿Latinization¿ of the Western Hemisphere. In response, decoloniality arose as a rich intellectual critique in the late 1990s in South America and the Caribbean. Decolonial rhetorical traditions stand in a unique position vis-à-vis the development of modernity, colonialism, racialized identities, the crisis of European reason, and the dawn of globalization. In an era of Trumpism, in which European modernity once again justifies restricting the mobility and freedom of Latinx immigrants, among other ethnic groups, perhaps no other form of intellectual critique seems quite so urgent. This course introduces students to primary decolonial rhetorical texts and asks students to apply these insights to pressing contemporary challenges by practicing deep reading of primary and secondary texts, preparing group presentations, and exploring creative acts of composition with an eye toward imagining brave new worlds and the decolonial rhetorical practices valued therein.