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Theorizing from the borders: Shifting to geo- and body-politics of knowledge

Publication ,  Journal Article
Mignolo, WD; Tlostanova, MV
Published in: European Journal of Social Theory
May 1, 2006

'Borders' will be in the twenty-first century what 'frontiers' where in the nineteenth. Frontiers were conceived as the line indicating the last point in the relentless march of civilization. On the one side of the frontiers was civilization; on the other, nothing; just barbarism or emptiness. The march of civilization and the idea of the frontiers created a geographic and bodygraphic divide. Certain areas of the planet were designated as the location of the barbarians, and since the eighteenth century, of the primitives. In one stroke, bodies were classified and assigned a given place on the planet. But who had the authority to enact such a classification, and what was the logic of that classification? Furthermore, the classification of the world by region, and the link established between regions and people inhabiting them, was parallel to the march of civilization and companions of it: on the other side of the epistemic frontiers, people do not think or theorize; hence, one of the reasons they were considered barbarians. Copyright © 2006 Sage Publications.

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Published In

European Journal of Social Theory

DOI

EISSN

1461-7137

ISSN

1368-4310

Publication Date

May 1, 2006

Volume

9

Issue

2

Start / End Page

205 / 221

Related Subject Headings

  • Sociology
  • 4410 Sociology
  • 4408 Political science
  • 2203 Philosophy
  • 1608 Sociology
  • 1606 Political Science
 

Citation

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Mignolo, W. D., & Tlostanova, M. V. (2006). Theorizing from the borders: Shifting to geo- and body-politics of knowledge. European Journal of Social Theory, 9(2), 205–221. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368431006063333
Mignolo, W. D., and M. V. Tlostanova. “Theorizing from the borders: Shifting to geo- and body-politics of knowledge.” European Journal of Social Theory 9, no. 2 (May 1, 2006): 205–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368431006063333.
Mignolo WD, Tlostanova MV. Theorizing from the borders: Shifting to geo- and body-politics of knowledge. European Journal of Social Theory. 2006 May 1;9(2):205–21.
Mignolo, W. D., and M. V. Tlostanova. “Theorizing from the borders: Shifting to geo- and body-politics of knowledge.” European Journal of Social Theory, vol. 9, no. 2, May 2006, pp. 205–21. Scopus, doi:10.1177/1368431006063333.
Mignolo WD, Tlostanova MV. Theorizing from the borders: Shifting to geo- and body-politics of knowledge. European Journal of Social Theory. 2006 May 1;9(2):205–221.
Journal cover image

Published In

European Journal of Social Theory

DOI

EISSN

1461-7137

ISSN

1368-4310

Publication Date

May 1, 2006

Volume

9

Issue

2

Start / End Page

205 / 221

Related Subject Headings

  • Sociology
  • 4410 Sociology
  • 4408 Political science
  • 2203 Philosophy
  • 1608 Sociology
  • 1606 Political Science