Independence or Xenophobia? Architecture and the Paradoxes of Decolonization

Abstract

The act of decolonizing can have quite different meanings, depending on the definition of the term colony used. In architecture, so-called decolonial studies suggest an opening towards new forms of knowledge. On the other hand, those who practice said studies often fall into different forms of determinism, which end up hindering that potential. Having identified notable contradictions in their formulation, in this article we suggest empirical, epistemological and methodological alternatives to decolonial studies, coming from two recent approaches, to architecture that could solve several problematic aspects observed in the decolonizing project.

Keywords

• determinism
• architectural historiography
• structure and agency
• epistemology
• postmodernism
• critical theory