Drömmen om ett dekolonialt språk?

Kritiska teorier och Antropocen

Abstract

The dream of a decolonial language: Critical theories and the Anthropocene

Within posthuman critical theory, the advent of the Anthropocene has revived dreams of a critical and decolonial language, free of the exclusions of modernity. Through a deconstructive reading of Bruno Latour’s texts on the Anthropocene and Gaia – which constitutes one of the most clear and influential examples of this hope – this article aims to deconstruct the dream of a decolonial language as well as the dichotomy between Anthropocene and modernity that this dream presuppose. What emerges from this deconstruction is that Latour’s writings – far from being free of modernity – rather reproduces key facets of the modernity that he seeks to critique. By showcasing the intimate and paradoxical relationship between posthuman critique and the colonial power relations expressed in discourses of modernity, the article problematizes ideas of a free critical language as well as notions of a pure critical position. In this way, the article strives to contribute to an ongoing debate about the conditions for critical theory in a time of global climate change.