Colonial or Imperial Studies? Rethinking Imperialism from the AmericasFernando
Coronil Abstract: My exploration of empires beyond Europe will take me not away from Europe, but towards other “Europes.” My discussion will move in the space of two “Europes,” one literal, one metaphorical. The literal one is Southern Europe, long seen as the marginal Europe, yet the birthplace of the modern empires of Portugal and Spain, which during the early modern period were models for the empires that stand now as canonical in colonial studies: those of France, Germany, Holland, and above all, England. From a perspective informed by the historical experience of the American ex-colonies of this literal but marginal Europe, I will look at a metaphorical Europe, the “hyper-real” Europe of postcolonial critique, the new apex of the modern “West:” the United States. This metaphorical Europe, for all its hyper-reality, remains largely a ghostly presence in colonial and postcolonial studies. In contrast, in Latin America it has been common to view the U.S. as an imperialist power. Is this view merely an old-fashioned fantasy of sleep-walking radicals? Does it make sense at this juncture for me to make this fantastic ghost walk among us again---to discuss the past and present imperialism of the US empire and even to treat its present modality as the highest stage of imperialism? I will explore this question in light of Latin America’s long historical involvement with a variety of imperial powers, placing “empire” alongside “imperialism.” |