Unmasking Social Science Imperialism
Title | Unmasking Social Science Imperialism PDF eBook |
Author | Tatah Mentan |
Publisher | African Books Collective |
Pages | 442 |
Release | 2015-02-02 |
Genre | Social Science |
ISBN | 9956792217 |
Contemporary social science is a product of the capitalist world-system and Eurocentrism is constitutive of the geoculture of this system characterized by the parochiality of its universalism, assumptions about the superiority of Western civilization and imposition as the sole theory of global progress. The creation of these structures of knowledge, specifically the institutionalization of the social sciences, is a phenomenon that is inextricably linked to the very formation and maturation of Europes capitalist world system or imperialism. There is therefore nothing that is natural, logical, or accidental about the institutionalization of the social sciences. These Europeanized structures of knowledge are imposed ways of producing knowledge of the world. This Eurocentrism of social science has justifiably come under increasingly vigorous scrutiny, especially in the period since 1945 with the formal decolonization of Africa, Asia, and much of the Caribbean. This book forcefully argues that if social science is to make any progress in the twenty-first century, it must overcome its Eurocentric heritage that has distorted social analyses and its capacity to deal with the problems of the contemporary world and embrace other non-Western funds of knowledge production.
Unmasking Social Science Imperialism
Title | Unmasking Social Science Imperialism PDF eBook |
Author | |
Publisher | |
Pages | 0 |
Release | |
Genre | |
ISBN |
Contemporary social science is a product of the capitalist world-system and Eurocentrism is constitutive of the geoculture of this system characterized by the parochiality of its universalism, assumptions about the superiority of Western civilization and imposition as the sole theory of global progress. The creation of these structures of knowledge, specifically the institutionalization of the social sciences, is a phenomenon that is inextricably linked to the very formation and maturation of Europe's capitalist world system or imperialism. There is therefore nothing that is natural, logical, or accidental about the institutionalization of the social sciences. These Europeanized structures of knowledge are imposed ways of producing knowledge of the world. This Eurocentrism of social science has justifiably come under increasingly vigorous scrutiny, especially in the period since 1945 with the formal decolonization of Africa, Asia, and much of the Caribbean. This book forcefully argues that if social science is to make any progress in the twenty-first century, it must overcome its Eurocentric heritage that has distorted social analyses and its capacity to deal with the problems of the contemporary world and embrace other non-Western funds of knowledge production.
Social Science as Imperialism
Title | Social Science as Imperialism PDF eBook |
Author | Claude Ake |
Publisher | |
Pages | 244 |
Release | 1982 |
Genre | History |
ISBN |
Claude Ake's study is primarily concerned with what he terms 'the most perinicious form of imperialism' namely scientific knowledge. Ake analyses how Western social sciences, whether consciously or inadvertently, foist capitalist values and capitalist development on the Third World, and serve imperialist ends. He unravels the theory of political development/'westernisation', exposing its ideological character and condemning 'Western development studies as worse than useless'. He then develops his analysis of the imperialist and ideological characteristics of Western social sciences to posit alternatives which may more successfully overcome permanent underdevelopment; and advocates a struggle for a new model of social sciences which is socialist-orientated, and that developing countries reject Western models. The study was first published in 1979, revised in 1982, is newly reissued, and for the first time, widely available outside Africa. Claude Ake (1939-1996) was one of Africa's most distinguished political and social scientists and democrats of the twentieth century, writing widely and polemically on what were his life-long concerns of democracy and the future of the African continent.
Unmasking Ideology in Imperial and Colonial Archaeology
Title | Unmasking Ideology in Imperial and Colonial Archaeology PDF eBook |
Author | Bonnie Effros |
Publisher | Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press |
Pages | 501 |
Release | 2018-12-31 |
Genre | Political Science |
ISBN | 1938770617 |
This volume addresses the entanglement between archaeology, imperialism, colonialism, capitalism, and war. Popular sentiment in the West has tended to embrace the adventure rather than ponder the legacy of archaeological explorers; allegations by imperial powers of "discovering" archaeological sites or "saving" world heritage from neglect or destruction have often provided the pretext for expanding political influence. Consequently, citizens have often fallen victim to the imperial war machine, seeing their lands confiscated, their artifacts looted, and the ancient remains in their midst commercialized. Spanning the globe with case studies from East Asia, Siberia, Australia, North and South America, Europe, and Africa, sixteen contributions written by archaeologists, art historians, and historians from four continents offer unusual breadth and depth in the assessment of various claims to patrimonial heritage, contextualized by the imperial and colonial ventures of the last two centuries and their postcolonial legacy.
Concepts of Imperialism as Reflected in the Writings of American Social Science, 1898-1958, an a Conjectural Theory of Approach
Title | Concepts of Imperialism as Reflected in the Writings of American Social Science, 1898-1958, an a Conjectural Theory of Approach PDF eBook |
Author | Benjamin Suhl |
Publisher | |
Pages | 92 |
Release | 1958 |
Genre | |
ISBN |
Globalization Unmasked
Title | Globalization Unmasked PDF eBook |
Author | James Petras |
Publisher | Zed Books |
Pages | 194 |
Release | 2001-07 |
Genre | Business & Economics |
ISBN | 9781856499392 |
Perhaps no word today is used and misused more than globalization. It generally serves to refer to worldwide epoch-defining changes in the organization of societies, economies and politics. But as Petras and Veltmeyer demonstrate, the term globalization obscures much more than it reveals. In practice, globalization provides a cover for a new form of imperialist exploitation and the institution of US hegemony over a global process of capital accumulation. In the last decade, capitalists in Europe and the United States have created favourable conditions for the takeover and recolonization of economies across the developing world. International capital has managed to restore highly profitable returns on investments and operations as never before, creating islands of opulent prosperity within a sea of growing poverty and misery. In effect, this book argues that the terms globalization and imperialism are widely used as alternative frameworks for understanding the dynamics of the same worldwide developments and trends. Employing an imperialist analytical framework over that of globalization not only provides a better understanding but also points towards forces of resistance and opposition that through political action may bring about necessary change.
Transnational Feminist Politics, Education, and Social Justice
Title | Transnational Feminist Politics, Education, and Social Justice PDF eBook |
Author | Silvia Edling |
Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
Pages | 313 |
Release | 2021-11-18 |
Genre | Education |
ISBN | 1350174483 |
Written by an international group of feminist scholars and activists, the book explores how the rise in right-wing politics, fundamentalist religion, and radical nationalism is constructed and results in gendered and racial violence. The chapters cover a broad range of international contexts and offer new ways of combating assaults and oppression to understand the dangers inherent within the current global political and social climate. The book includes a foreword by the distinguished critical activist, Antonia Darder, as well as a chapter by renowned feminist-scholar, Chandra Talpade Mohanty.