Thinkshop Series “Critique of the Decolonization of social thought”

Thinkshop 4: How decolonial thinking further develops disciplinary social science theorizing:  From the self-criticism of critiques of capitalism towards creating national identities and the preparatory work of the Historical Materialism

25. June 13.00 PM CET

Link to join: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81528033829?pwd=Q1NHWGlJck9tZU5raFZBWTR4Z1kwQT09

Thinkshop 3:Thinking through space – the Epistemology of de-colonial thinking (Chakrabarty, Seth, et al)https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81528033829?pwd=Q1NHWGlJck9tZU5raFZBWTR4Z1kwQT09

21. May. 2023, 10 am CET

Link to join: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81738633294?pwd=dk9tRGhuZkFXU293SXErL1hTUGUzdz09

To read what I will present please click on the link “MK, Notes about Eurocentrism” below under Thinkshop 2

Thinkshop 2: “Eurocentrism” – a critique completing the universalization of the “Western” theories

NEW DATE: April 30, 2023 10 am CET

Link to join: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86766308845?pwd=MnlSeGRHczVLT2RlUENyQWpxRkdYQT09

Meeting-ID: 867 6630 8845
Kenncode: 338433

MK, Notes about Eurocentrism

Thinkshop 1 : Introduction: Legends about the De-colonization

Starting 12. February, 2023, 10 am CET, 2022

Around the nineties, not coincidentally, firstly, with the end of the alternative society project, the Soviet Union, an end that, secondly, established the global single rule of the US-Imperialism over the world of nation states and, then thirdly, with the end of the transformation of the colonized part of the world towards nation states and market economies, a new wave of critical thinking occurred, coined de-colonial thinking. And this thinking – this is my finding about what this de-colonial thinking does – is everything else but opposing what troubles human`s life in this world, poverty and political oppression. 

Departing from a new critique of those theories from the “West” framing thinking about the world at that time as they do until today, despite of this now thirty years lasting new kind of critique,  a critique arguing that these theories are centered on the European societies, a critique coined “Eurocentrism”, as one can already see from this notion of a “Eurocentrism”, this critique introduces the concerns of politically constructed entities as the concerns of thinking, preferably global political entities, such as the Europeans, then imaginary political entities such as the “North” versus the “South”. And despite of its critical intentions this thinking, coined de-colonial thinking, results not only in the final universalization of the very way of theorizing of the very European disciplinary social sciences and strengthens their rule over thinking around the world, but it also results in the creation of theories, while opposing the globally ruling nationalism of the “North”, with which this de-colonial thinking promotes all sorts of alternative nationalisms. With these nationalisms of a “South” de-colonial thinking thus arrives at social thought serving various politically constructed demarcations of people based on their nationalities, ethnicities or even races, the very kind of social thought providing the world’s people with views, only nation states use and benefit from for their hostilities, finally for their wars, demarcations, often more hostile than all the very well known demarcations created by the “Eurocentric” social sciences. 

Despite of all good intentions de-colonial thinking helps with its thought to adapt people’s views to what troubles them, to their poverty and to their political oppression.

To share my critique of de-colonial thinking I organize from February 2023 on a series of 7 Thinkshops discussing the following topics

Thinkshop 1: Legends about what happened under the notion of post-colonialism, February 12, 2023, 10 am CET 2022.  

The zoom-link for the first webinar will be sent to you via email before the meeting and posted here.

Thinkshop 2: Eurocentrism – opposing theories without their critique – What is non-eurocentric thinking (Amin, Chakrabarty)

Thinkshop 3: Thinking through space – the Epistemology of de-colonial thinking (Chakrabarty, Seth, et al)

Thinkshop 4: How decolonial thinking further develops disciplinary social science theorizing:  From the self-criticism of critiques of capitalism towards creating national identities and the preparatory work of the Historical Materialism

Thinkshop 5: The creation of alternative nationalisms of de-colonial thinking: Indigenization of theorizing (Wallerstein, S. Alatas, Dos Santos, et al)

Thinkshop 6: The Non-Discourses among indigenized theories (F. Alatas, Sato, et al)

Thinkshop 7: Scientific and political outcomes  of de-colonial thinking

These thinkshops are based on my book titled “The Social Science of the Citizen Society, Volume 1: Critique of the Globalization and Decolonization of the Social Sciences” and a series of video presentations on Youtube supplemented with a paper summarizing my main points of critique in these video presentations. 

For watching the video presentations please go to: https://michael-kuhn.net/video/

For reading my book please click here: https://michael-kuhn.net/publications/

A free working version of this book you can find here: https://michael-kuhn.net/working-papers-4/

Notes for the thinkshops 1-6 can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FmZdUfYdM872Z13p9BV17lrccnkP8WA1/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=106469827050948153850&rtpof=true&sd=true

Thinkshop 1 will be hold on the 12. February 2023, 10 AM CET

For each Thinkshop there will be a paper outlining the main statements discussed on the meeting. These papers will be posted 1 month before the meeting.

To register please send an email to: michaelkuhn@knowwhy.net

Link to participate: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/2964506378?pwd=Y05RUTI1VUFEd0l6aERmejQwbUc1Zz09

The participation in these thinkshops is free.

Thinkshop Series: Masterminds of critical social science theories

Thinkshop Masterminds 1: Bourdieu , The forms of capital

M. Kuhn Comments about Bourdieu: “Capitalism makes societies functioning – The de-historization, naturalization and totalitarization of the rationale of capitalist materialism“

Thinkshop Masterminds 2: J. E. Stiglitz, Origin of Inequality, 2005

Thinkshop Masterminds 3: I. Wallerstein, European Universalism, Te Rhetoric of Power, 2006

Thinkshop Masterminds 4: U. Beck, Risk Society, Towards a New Modernity, 1992

Thinkshop Masterminds 5: P. Geertz, The interpretation of Culture, 1973

Thinkshop Masterminds 6: M. Foucault

Thinkshop Masterminds 7: T. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 1996

Thinkshop Masterminds 8: J. Blondel

Thinkshop 1: Sanjay Seth, Beyond Reason Postcolonial Theories and the Social Sciences

M. Kuhn, Comments on “Beyond Reason, Postcolonial Theories and the Social Sciences, Oxford University Press 2021”, Sanjay Seth