In a sweeping global analysis, Mahmood Mamdani’s new book “Neither Settler nor Native: The Making and Unmaking of Permanent Minorities” troubles conventional genealogies of the modern nation state and citizenship, and he wrestles with difficult questions about what decolonizing the political might mean.
I really enjoyed reading this book and reviewed it for EJS.
Stuart Hall is one of the most foundational thinkers for my work; especially his writings on identity, belonging, race, the nation and colonialism have left a deep mark on me. Kyle Green asked me to talk about some of these experiences and to discuss Hall’s work & life for the podcast Give Theory a Chance.
You can listen to it here.
Picture “a lovely British home, with green lawns, appropriate furnishings and a retinue of well-trained servants,” W.E. B. Du Bois writes. “Within is a young woman, well trained and well dressed, intelligent and high-minded. She is fingering the ivory keys of a grand piano and pondering the problem of her summer vacation, whether in Switzerland or among the Italian lakes; her family is not wealthy, but it has a sufficient “independent” income from investments to enjoy life without hard work. How far is such a person responsible for the crimes of colonialism?”
