The Challenge and Promise of Decolonial Thought to Biblical Interpretation
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/post.v4i1.113Keywords:
decolonial thought, critical theory, Biblical interpretation in Latin AmericaAbstract
Critical theory has taken a new turn in Latin America. Post-colonial thought, post-structuralism, cultural studies, liberation thought, subaltern studies, world-systems theory, and other contemporary theoretical foci have combined with indigenous influences to produce a new form of critical theory called decolonial thought. Through its unique take on power, knowledge, culture, history, human existence, and globalization, this thought aims at elaborating not just another paradigm within the typically modern way of thinking but a totally new paradigm the shatters such thinking, a paradigma otro in the lapidary expression of Mignolo. Although it does not explicitly discuss the interpretation of Scripture, decolonial thought holds out promise for an innovative approach to the interpretation of the New Testament. In this article, we offer an overview of decolonial thought, differentiate it from other forms of critical theory, and suggest three potential contributions to Biblical studies.
References
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———. 2000. “Coloniality of Power, Ethnocentrism, and Latin America.” Nepantla 1: 533–580.
Riviera Cuiscanqui, Silvia. 2006. “Chhixinakax utxiwa. Una reflexión sobre prác-ticas y discursos descolonizadores.” In Modernidad y pensamiento descolo- nizador. Memoria del Seminario Internacional, edited by Mario Yupi, 3-16. La Paz: U-PIEB-IFEA, 2006.
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———. 2005. “(Re)pensamiento crítico y (de)colonialidad.” In Pensamiento crítico y matriz (de)colonial. Reflexiones latinoamericanas, edited by Catherine Walsh, 13–35. Quito: Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar / Abya-Yala, 2005.
———. 2006. “Interculturalidad y (de)colonialidad: diferencia y nación de otro modo.” In Desarrollo e interculturalidad, imaginario y diferencia: la nación en el mundo Andino, edited by Catherine Walsh, 27–43. Quito: Academica de la Latinidad.
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Dussel, Enrique. 1995. The Invention of the Americas. Translated by Michael D. Barber. New York: Continuum.
———. 1998. “Beyond Eurocentrism: The World System and the Limits of Modernity.” In The Cultures of Globalization, edited by Frederic Jameson and M¥ Miyoshi, 3–30. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
———. 2004. “Sistema mundo y transmodernidad.” In Modernidades coloniales, edited by Saurabh Dube, Ishita Banerjee and Walter Mignolo, 201–226. Mexico City: El Colegio de México.
Escobar, Arturo. 1999. “After Nature: Steps to an Anti-Essentialist Political Ecology.” Current Anthropology 40: 1–30. doi:10.1086/515799
———. 2003. “‘Mundos y conocimientos de otro modo’: el programa de inves- tigación de modernidad / colonialidad latinoamericano.” Tabula Rasa ¥: 51–86.
———. 2005. “Worlds and Knowledges Otherwise: The Latin American Modernity / Coloniality Research Program.” Available at http://www.unc. edu/~aescobar/html/texts.htm Accessed August 31, 2009.
Grosfoguel, Ramón. 2006. From Postcolonial Studies to Decolonial Studies: Decolonizing Postcolonial Studies. Binghamton, NY : Binghamton University, Ferdinand Braudel Center.
The Koran. 1994. Translated by J.M. Rodwell. London and Rutland, VT: Everyman.
Maldonado-Torres, Nelson. 2007a. “Sobre la colonialidad del ser: contribu- ciones al desarrollo de un concepto.” In El giro decolonial. Reflexiones para una diversidad epistémica más allá del capitalismo global, edited by Santiago Castro-Gómez and Ramón Grosfoguel, 127–167. Bogota: Iesco-Pensar- Siglo del Hombre Editores.
———. 2007b. “Walter Mignolo: una vida dedicada al proyecto decolonial,” Nómadas 26: 187–194.
Mignolo, Walter. 2000. Local Histories / Global Designs: Coloniality, Subaltern Knowledges, and Border Thinking. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
———. 2003. The Darker Side of the Renaissance: Literacy, Territoriality, and Colonization. 2nd edition. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.
———. 2005. The Idea of Latin America. Malden, MA and Oxford: Blackwell. Mignolo, Walter, and Arturo Escobar. 2009. Globalization and the Decolonial Option. London: Routledge.
Quijano, Aníbal. 1998. “The Colonial Nature of Power and Latin America’s Cultural Experience.” In Sociology in Latin America (Social Knowledge, Heritage, Challenges, Perspectives), edited by R. Briceño-León and H. R. Sonntag, 27–38. Venezuela: Proceedings of the Regional Conference of the International Association of Sociology.
———. 2000. “Coloniality of Power, Ethnocentrism, and Latin America.” Nepantla 1: 533–580.
Riviera Cuiscanqui, Silvia. 2006. “Chhixinakax utxiwa. Una reflexión sobre prác-ticas y discursos descolonizadores.” In Modernidad y pensamiento descolo- nizador. Memoria del Seminario Internacional, edited by Mario Yupi, 3-16. La Paz: U-PIEB-IFEA, 2006.
Schüssler Fiorenza, Elisabeth. 2007. The Power of the Word: Scripture and the Rhetoric of Empire. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2007.
Walsh, Catherine, Freya Schiwy, and Santiago Castro-Gómez, eds. 2002. Interdisciplinar la ciencias sociales. Quito: Universidad Andina / Abya Yala.
———. 2005. “(Re)pensamiento crítico y (de)colonialidad.” In Pensamiento crítico y matriz (de)colonial. Reflexiones latinoamericanas, edited by Catherine Walsh, 13–35. Quito: Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar / Abya-Yala, 2005.
———. 2006. “Interculturalidad y (de)colonialidad: diferencia y nación de otro modo.” In Desarrollo e interculturalidad, imaginario y diferencia: la nación en el mundo Andino, edited by Catherine Walsh, 27–43. Quito: Academica de la Latinidad.
———. 2007. “¿Son posibles unas ciencias sociales/culturales otras? Reflexiones en torno a las epistemologías decoloniales.” Nomadas 26: 102–113.
Published
2010-06-05
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Banazak, G. A., & Reyes Ceja, L. (2010). The Challenge and Promise of Decolonial Thought to Biblical Interpretation. Postscripts: The Journal of Sacred Texts, Cultural Histories, and Contemporary Contexts, 4(1), 113-127. https://doi.org/10.1558/post.v4i1.113
