Wretched of the Earth: On Coloniality and Lifemaking
a south/south reading series
via Zoom, every third Friday of the month this fall 2024
Abya Yala edition
The wretched of the Earth, according to Frantz Fanon, are political creatures “in the most global sense of the term” (Fanon, 1963, p. vii). The centuries of colonization on a planetary scale (Young, 2003) have produced accumulative death and damage and destruction across lands and generations, as well as subjects who, by navigating and gliding through the structures of ongoing coloniality, possess the capacity to generate ruptures.
This reading series will provide an in-depth discussion of Frantz Fanon’s seminal work, The Wretched of the Earth, and will explore how the colonized can transform their situated and lived realities of ongoing coloniality into multiple forms of lifemaking. The series will be divided into four sessions, each focusing on specific chapters of the book. Those who wish to join are highly encouraged to read the designated chapters thoroughly before each session to facilitate meaningful and generative knowledge-sharing.
Session 1: Introduction and On Violence (20 September 2024, 1 PM CEST)
- Overview of Fanon’s life and context
- Introduction by Jean-Paul Sartre
- Examination of the role of violence in the struggle for liberation
Session 2: Grandeur and Weakness of Spontaneity and The Trials and Tribulations of National Consciousness (18 October 2024, 1 PM CEST)
- The uprisings of the colonized
- The pitfalls of post-colonial governance and ongoing coloniality
Session 3: On National Culture and Colonial War and Mental Disorders (15 November 2024, 1 PM CET)
- Trauma inflicted by colonization
- The role of intellectuals and artists in the decolonization process
Session 4: Conclusion and reflections (20 December 2024, 1 PM CET)
- Relevance of Fanon’s work in our contemporary context(s)
- Open discussion on how we, as the wretched of the Earth, can advance multiple forms of life-making
This reading series is co-organized by Andya Paz with Ana Pandal de la Peza, Hien Phan, rémy-paulin twahirwa, and Shahed Shafazand under our Countering the Colonial Project. The sessions are scheduled for the third Friday of each month, starting on September 20, 2024, at 1 PM CEST. Everyone is invited to share knowledge and join the conversation.
Registration
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Fanon, F. (1963). The Wretched of the Earth. Broadway, NY: Grove Press.
Young, R. (2003). Colonialism. In R. Young, Postcolonialism (pp. 13-24). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Our reference image above depicts the Katipunan of the Philippine Revolution against over 300 years of Spanish colonialism in the archipelago. It links to a series of mural paintings called “Filipino Struggles Through History” by Botong Francisco (1964).