A discussion with Nelson Maldonado-Torres/University of Connecticut and Rosabel Ansari/PHI, Philosophy and Gaza: Frameworks of Decolonization and Genocide. Sponsored by The Center for Changing Systems of Power, the Latin American & Caribbean Studies Center, and HISB.

This two-speaker event discusses critiques of the frameworks of decolonization and genocide to describe events in Gaza. What is the relevance of the analysis of coloniality and decolonaility to understand the ongoing catastrophe (Nakba)? What makes 'genocide' the correct name for the loss of life in Gaza?

Nelson Maldonado-Torres is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Connecticut, and Professor Extraordinarious at the University of South Africa. A former President of the Caribbean Philosophical Association (2008-2013), he is senior associate of the BlackHouse Kollective-Soweto, and Co-Chair of the Frantz Fanon Foundation. His work focuses on ethics, social, political, and decolonial philosophy with particular attention to philosophical expressions in the Global South. His recent research deals with decolonization/decoloniality.

Rosabel Ansari is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Stony Brook University. Her research is on the history of philosophy, with particular focus on the transmission of Ancient Greek philosophy into Arabic, classical and post-classical Islamic philosophy, philosophy of language, and metaphysics. Her forthcoming book is in press with Oxford University Press.

Image: Smoke ascends over the northern Gaza Strip following an Israeli strike, as seen from Sderot, Israel, on Oct. 23, 2023. Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP