CfP AAG 2018 – Contemporary U.S. colonialisms: Crises and Politics.
Organizers: Sasha Davis (Keene State College) Sasha.davis@keene.edu
and Scott Kirsch (University of North Carolina) kirsch@email.unc.edu
Recent hurricane disasters in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, as well as the targeting of Guam during disputes between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, have highlighted the dangers and oppressions that accompany contemporary colonial relationships in U.S. territories. Given the continued relevance and impact of colonialism in the current era, this session invites papers that examine the consequences of modern colonialism as well as help develop theories, tactics and strategies – legal and extralegal – for transforming these colonial relationships.
While the political statuses between the U.S. and territorial possessions formalize the second-class citizenship of many territorial residents, the contemporary imposition of colonial processes extends beyond ‘official’ colonies. While there are places with territorial or commonwealth statuses such as Puerto Rico, Guam, The U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands that are clear examples of formally restricted governance, there are other places such as foreign communities hosting U.S. military bases, countries in ‘Free Association’ with the U.S., and culturally distinct spaces within the official boundaries of the U.S. such as Hawai’i and indigenous lands across North America that are subject to U.S. policies, but which have limited or non-existent formal mechanisms for producing or affecting these policies. We therefore invite papers that focus on any geographical context where U.S. colonial political processes continue to operate.
Possible topics can include, but are not limited to:
The production of vulnerability in colonies (environmental, infrastructural, military)
Legal geographies of contemporary colonialism
Colonialism, austerity and neoliberalism
‘Insularity’ as political category
Militarization and colonialism
Research methodologies in colonial contexts
Theoretical perspectives on sovereignty and territory
Case studies of resistance and sovereignty movements
Solidarity activism and colonized places
Migration, mobilities and citizenship in colonial settings
United Nations decolonization processes
Resource extraction in colonial settings
Co-Organizers:
Sasha Davis, Department of Geography, Keene State College. Sasha.davis@keene.edu
Scott Kirsch, Department of Geography, University of North Carolina kirsch@email.unc.edu