Local Histories/global Designs

Synopsis

Local Histories/Global Designs is an extended argument about the "coloniality" of power by one of the most innovative Latin American and Latino scholars. In a shrinking world where sharp dichotomies, such as East/West and developing/developed, blur and shift, Walter Mignolo points to the inadequacy of current practices in the social sciences and area studies. He explores the crucial notion of "colonial difference" in the study of the modern colonial world and traces the emergence of an epistemic shift, which he calls "border thinking." Further, he expands the horizons of those debates already under way in postcolonial studies of Asia and Africa by dwelling in the genealogy of thoughts of South/Central America, the Caribbean, and Latino/as in the United States. His concept of "border gnosis," or sensing and knowing by dwelling in imperial/colonial borderlands, counters the tendency of occidentalist perspectives to manage, and thus limit, understanding.


In a new preface that discusses Local Histories/Global Designs as a dialogue with Hegel's Philosophy of History, Mignolo connects his argument with the unfolding of history in the first decade of the twenty-first century.

Summary

Chapter 1: The Local and the Global in the Historical Imagination

* Explores the interconnectedness of local and global histories, challenging traditional boundaries between them.
* Example: The rise of the global cotton trade in the 19th century, which had profound impacts on local communities in both cotton-producing regions and industrializing nations.

Chapter 2: Local Histories and the Global: Power, Resistance, and Networks

* Analyzes how local actors engage with global forces and structures of power.
* Example: The anti-colonial resistance movements in Africa and Asia, which drew on local traditions and histories to challenge global imperial powers.

Chapter 3: The Globalization of Migration: Local Roots and Global Connections

* Examines the causes and consequences of migration as a global and local phenomenon.
* Example: The Syrian refugee crisis in the 21st century, which has both local and global implications in terms of humanitarian assistance, cultural exchange, and political tensions.

Chapter 4: Local Histories and the Environment: Climate Change, Resource Extraction, and Sustainability

* Explores the intersection between local and global environmental issues.
* Example: The impact of climate change on coastal communities, which requires both local adaptation and global cooperation to mitigate its effects.

Chapter 5: Local Histories and the Digital Age: Connectivity, Surveillance, and Identity

* Examines the transformative effects of digital technologies on local and global communities.
* Example: The rise of social media and its ability to connect people across borders but also raise concerns about privacy and surveillance.

Chapter 6: Local Histories and the Postcolonial World: Decolonizing Knowledge and Reclaiming Narratives

* Addresses the importance of decolonizing historical narratives and giving voice to marginalized local perspectives.
* Example: The ongoing efforts to document and preserve the histories of indigenous peoples and their contributions to global knowledge systems.

Chapter 7: The Future of Local Histories/Global Designs: Interdisciplinarity, Technology, and Engaged Scholarship

* Explores emerging trends in local history research and proposes future directions for the field.
* Example: The use of digital tools to map and analyze local histories, opening up new possibilities for collaboration and public engagement.