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The Darker Side of Western Modernity: Global Futures, Decolonial Options by Walter D. Mignolo
stevendedalus's review against another edition
4.0
This feels like different versions of the same chapter: presenting the same argument but revealing a slightly different facet each time: it can feel repetitive, but by god it drills decolonialism into you deep.
Essentially, it's an effective plea to recognize the arbitrariness of even our most basic paradigms, showing how they're basically all relics of colonial thinking with destructive biases built in. It's a quintessentially postmodern argument, but links practice with theory very well to show multiple potential paths to move forward.
Mignolo balances well the need to deconstruct the problems of current global liberal capital while still including that optimistic creativity that his decolonial options present. It's very academic but has the excitement of applicability in the open-endedness that he emphasizes.
Once you get the gist of the argument, the rest is mostly variation and detail with a lot of concern over semiotics (obviously). But it's still a wonderful tool to continue to question your own biases and ensure that we can build a better more plural world together.
Essentially, it's an effective plea to recognize the arbitrariness of even our most basic paradigms, showing how they're basically all relics of colonial thinking with destructive biases built in. It's a quintessentially postmodern argument, but links practice with theory very well to show multiple potential paths to move forward.
Mignolo balances well the need to deconstruct the problems of current global liberal capital while still including that optimistic creativity that his decolonial options present. It's very academic but has the excitement of applicability in the open-endedness that he emphasizes.
Once you get the gist of the argument, the rest is mostly variation and detail with a lot of concern over semiotics (obviously). But it's still a wonderful tool to continue to question your own biases and ensure that we can build a better more plural world together.
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