On language and race

La opción filológica de Henríquez Ureña se debía en parte a esta alternativa: mientras que los científicos se habían equivocado al argumentar a base de hechos empíricos, tales como la mezcla racial, los filólogos tenían una base empírica mucho más precisa en la lengua. La herencia del Imperio español en las Américas era haber dejado … More On language and race

Nation versus state, and postnationalism

I am not convinced we are really postnational yet. And I am behind the times, so I should read this old piece. The term ‘post–nationalism’ has been proposed to designate the emergence of political bodies in the wake of economic globalisation. However, not only is the ‘post–national landscape’ strongly redolent of nationalism, but nations themselves … More Nation versus state, and postnationalism

Fragment from 2013

…The concept of raza is thus not a merely a particular system of classification, but a racial order in which culture and cultural identity have an important role and the meaning of color varies. It is nonetheless administered by the state as racial, and despite its flexibility as a category, it remains inflected with questions … More Fragment from 2013

Mais, find this article or book

Scholars of Latin American and Caribbean history have recently given a great deal of thought to both “race-making” and “nation-building.” [End Page 331] Many embrace the premise that race is a historical construct—a product of interactions among state policy, individual actions, and local politics—and elaborate compelling analyses of the racial dynamics on that basis. At … More Mais, find this article or book

Sarmiento encore

Savage and barbarian were, I am told (and must find out), categories in nineteenth century international law. Friend: There is a stunning passage in Foucault’s book Society Must be Defended (1975-76) that compares the figure of the “savage” with that of the “barbarian” as these emerged in 17thc. historical writing in France. His description of … More Sarmiento encore

Abstract

I must work on this abstract, which is due soon. The point of presenting at this conference is to restart work on that essay and thus, this book. The presentation must get me back to what I was doing, not just be another fragmentary spin-off. In Being and Blackness in Latin America (2006), Patricia D. … More Abstract