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Conference Presentations by Tye Salandy

The collapse of the Grenadian revolution in 1983 marked the end of experimentation with non-capit... more The collapse of the Grenadian revolution in 1983 marked the end of experimentation with non-capitalist paradigms in the English-speaking Caribbean. On the global front, the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union gave rise to neoliberal triumphalism which asserted that mankind had reached some sort of end of history, where ideological options have been exhausted. However, the legacy of socialist thought in the Caribbean points towards the rich possibilities within non-capitalist development. At the same time, it has exposed the limitations of socialist transformation projects. As decolonial scholars point out capitalism is just one aspect of the “Capitalist/Patriarchal/Western-centric/Christian-centric/Colonial World-System”. In addition, transformation at the state level is not sufficient to overcome the coloniality of power inscribed in the global system, national institutions and the individual. This presentation uses a decolonial lens to analyse the insights and limitations of leftist thought in the Caribbean in an effort to chart an alternative to the decadence of neoliberal capitalism.

The ideas of Sir Arthur Lewis have been very influential in post-independence societies formulati... more The ideas of Sir Arthur Lewis have been very influential in post-independence societies formulating development agendas to escape the underdevelopment of the colonial period. By challenging the classical economic notion of comparative advantage which relegated the Caribbean to be a producer of raw materials, Sir Arthur Lewis championed the right of the Caribbean to industrialize. At the same time, Arthur Lewis’ vision for Caribbean transformation clashed with the ideas of radical Caribbean thinkers who expressed concerns about foreign domination of the Caribbean. This paper examines Sir Arthur Lewis’s work through a decolonial lens as a basis to explore the implications for Caribbean Development. It argues that understanding the legacy of Sir Arthur Lewis can provide valuable insights towards creating alternative forms of development.

In the Caribbean, the processes of conquest, enslavement, colonialism and imperial control have i... more In the Caribbean, the processes of conquest, enslavement, colonialism and imperial control have indelibly shaped Caribbean societies. On a surface level this has meant the creation of institutions and relationships that uphold dominant power relations. On a deeper level however, there have been narratives that have encoded values, concepts, and ways of seeing and constructing the world. The encoding is also present at the level on institutions in setting the parameters for legitimacy and the connected rules for inclusion and exclusion.

Decades after Independence, the dreams of liberation have not been realised as political independence seemed to usher in and strengthen other forms of imperialism and control. In addition, the Independence experience and the ascendance of neoliberal globalization reveal the complicity of local elites and institutions in the misdevelopment of Caribbean societies. With these contradictions of Independence, the continued Euro-American dominance in the production of knowledge and information has been one of the greatest stumbling blocks to authentic Caribbean development. This paper explores how the dynamics of knowledge production and the accompanying power relations maintain dominant hierarchies and narratives, undermines resistance and short-circuits the ability of Caribbean people to visualize alternatives. It is this paper's contention that it is only through uncovering and interrogating the roots and dynamics of colonial misdevelopment in the Caribbean, that the region's ability to imagine alternatives to hegemonic development paradigms can be unlocked.

In the mainstream literature, in textbooks and curricula, globalization is defined mainly in term... more In the mainstream literature, in textbooks and curricula, globalization is defined mainly in terms of free trade and the movement towards a global village and one global culture, driven by advances in technology. It is the contention of the paper that such narratives of Globalization disguise the power relations, the effects of unequal production of knowledge and the privileging of the violent socioeconomic agendas of dominant world powers. Globalization, has not just meant global integration and the compression of space and time, but most importantly for peoples of the global south it has meant integration according to the agendas of dominant world powers, undemocratic so-called international organizations and corporate interests.

With these realities have come new forms of violence. Science and technology, while opening up new possibilities including new spaces for alternative voices to articulate themselves, has also been harnessed as a tool in epistemic violence. This particularly manifests in the destruction, demonization, marginalization, omission, silencing and ignoring of the ‘other’: particularly the non-Western, non-Euro-American, non-Judeo Christian, non-patriarchal and non-Capitalist worldviews. This paper explores the implications of these dynamics, which has resulted in increased inequalities and challenges, despite the rhetoric embedded in the narratives of Neoliberal Globalization.

The issues of culture and resistance of colonized people has however come to the forefront increa... more The issues of culture and resistance of colonized people has however come to the forefront increasingly in recent years as Caribbean academics have become more assertive in re-writing and re-visioning the Caribbean against the background of tendencies within the mainstream literature to strip Caribbean people of agency. The contribution of the Rasta movement in this era of neo-liberal Globalisation has however not been been properly recorded and debated within the Caribbean consciousness.In this vein, this paper seeks to explore the connection between the Rasta movement and the challenging of dominant Eurocentric discourses in the post Independence Caribbean. The Rasta movement as a manifestation of an African Caribbean worldview embodies a strong challenge to mainstream society, inclusive of the development ideology, academia, the devaluation of indigenous culture and history, and the hierarchies of race, colour and class that characterize post-Independence Caribbean societies.

Papers by Tye Salandy

Looking at the early life of Arthur Lewis we see a man who is expressive in challenging the domin... more Looking at the early life of Arthur Lewis we see a man who is expressive in challenging the dominant structures of imperialism at the time. Yet as time goes along we see a shift towards a conservative middle-class position that aligned closely to narratives of coloniality. The early Arthur Lewis reminded the British Colonial Office of the damaging effects of slavery and white supremacy, challenged their racist hiring practices and criticised writers for being imperial apologists. This contrasts sharply with the older Arthur Lewis who discouraged students from addressing coloniality and who could not see the brilliance and power in working class African culture, whether in the Caribbean, Africa or the United States. Part of the reason seems to be that his anti- colonialism was mainly in terms of resistance against overt and direct manifestations of imperialism rather than the broader range of epistemologies and ontologies of empire.

London School of Economics and Political Science, Dec 14, 2020

According to Cowen and Shenton (1996) the concept of development has over 700 definitions. This r... more According to Cowen and Shenton (1996) the concept of development has over 700 definitions. This reflects the contested nature of the development discourse and its many different definitions, approaches, and ideologies. Development has been expressed from the perspectives of structural functionalism, marxism, feminism, postcolonialism, poststructuralism and most recently decoloniality. However, the discourse of development has not been a meritocratic or inclusive process. Biases within the production of knowledge have pervaded both the narratives and counter-narratives of development. Academic, white, global north and male voices have occupied a privileged position (Grosfoguel 2011; Kothari 2006) with this having the effect of silencing and making invisible perspectives that emanate from the deeper experiences of western modernity/coloniality. This has given rise to the tendency towards Eurocentric critiques of the Eurocentric (Mpofu 2017; Ndlovu-Gatsheni 2012). Even when thinkers emerge from the global south to offer critiques, these voices tend to reflect the internal race, colour, class (etc) hierarchies within the global south. All of this translates into a lack of urgency towards excavating non-European, non-Judeo Christian, non-bourgeois, non-capitalist and non-patriarchal voices that have been discarded into the dustbin of history within the last 500 years of western modernity/coloniality.

Decolonial Perspectives on Entangled Inequalities: Europe and The Caribbean, 2021

Throughout the history of western modernity/coloniality there has been a direct relationship betw... more Throughout the history of western modernity/coloniality there has been a direct relationship between the erasure of history and the perpetuation of violent ideologies and structures. This chapter juxtaposes the amnesia in mainstream understandings of history and the historical world view of Rastafarians. Drawing upon fieldwork done in the Caribbean country of Trinidad and Tobago, it attempts to connect the erasure of memory and the forced severing of subaltern identities to ongoing structures of coloniality. At the same time, it explores the Rastafari worldview as a project of remembering. The emergence of the Rastafari movement in Trinidad and Tobago occurred in the 1960s. During this period country achieved political independence, yet this was insufficient to dismantle the structures of a plantation society. It was not until the 1970s following the repression of the Black Power movement that the Rasta movement expanded exponentially with a worldview that clashed with the orientations of mainstream society. Even as early Rastas experienced violence from state institutions and contempt from many citizens, their identity involved a creative reframing of African and Caribbean history. The existence of this counterculture has deep implications for contemporary understandings of modernity, resistance and global inequalities in the production of knowledge.

According to Cowen and Shenton (1996) the concept of development has over 700 definitions. This r... more According to Cowen and Shenton (1996) the concept of development has over 700 definitions. This reflects the contested nature of the development discourse and its many different definitions, approaches, and ideologies. Development has been expressed from the perspectives of structural functionalism, marxism, feminism, postcolonialism, poststructuralism and most recently decoloniality. However, the discourse of development has not been a meritocratic or inclusive process. Biases within the production of knowledge have pervaded both the narratives and counter-narratives of development. Academic, white, global north and male voices have occupied a privileged position (Grosfoguel 2011; Kothari 2006) with this having the effect of silencing and making invisible perspectives that emanate from the deeper experiences of western modernity/coloniality. This has given rise to the tendency towards Eurocentric critiques of the Eurocentric (Mpofu 2017; Ndlovu-Gatsheni 2012). Even when thinkers emerge from the global south to offer critiques, these voices tend to reflect the internal race, colour, class (etc) hierarchies within the global south. All of this translates into a lack of urgency towards excavating non-European, non-Judeo Christian, non-bourgeois, non-capitalist and non-patriarchal voices that have been discarded into the dustbin of history within the last 500 years of western modernity/coloniality.

The collapse of the Grenadian revolution in 1983 marked the end of experimentation with non-capit... more The collapse of the Grenadian revolution in 1983 marked the end of experimentation with non-capitalist paradigms in the English-speaking Caribbean. On the global front, the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union gave rise to neoliberal triumphalism which asserted that mankind had reached some sort of end of history, where ideological options have been exhausted. However, the legacy of socialist thought in the Caribbean points towards the rich possibilities within non-capitalist development. At the same time, it has exposed the limitations of socialist transformation projects. As decolonial scholars point out capitalism is just one aspect of the “Capitalist/Patriarchal/Western-centric/Christian-centric/Colonial World-System”. In addition, transformation at the state level is not sufficient to overcome the coloniality of power inscribed in the global system, national institutions and the individual. This presentation uses a decolonial lens to analyse the insights and limitations of leftist thought in the Caribbean in an effort to chart an alternative to the decadence of neoliberal capitalism.

The ideas of Sir Arthur Lewis have been very influential in post-independence societies formulati... more The ideas of Sir Arthur Lewis have been very influential in post-independence societies formulating development agendas to escape the underdevelopment of the colonial period. By challenging the classical economic notion of comparative advantage which relegated the Caribbean to be a producer of raw materials, Sir Arthur Lewis championed the right of the Caribbean to industrialize. At the same time, Arthur Lewis’ vision for Caribbean transformation clashed with the ideas of radical Caribbean thinkers who expressed concerns about foreign domination of the Caribbean. This paper examines Sir Arthur Lewis’s work through a decolonial lens as a basis to explore the implications for Caribbean Development. It argues that understanding the legacy of Sir Arthur Lewis can provide valuable insights towards creating alternative forms of development.

In the Caribbean, the processes of conquest, enslavement, colonialism and imperial control have i... more In the Caribbean, the processes of conquest, enslavement, colonialism and imperial control have indelibly shaped Caribbean societies. On a surface level this has meant the creation of institutions and relationships that uphold dominant power relations. On a deeper level however, there have been narratives that have encoded values, concepts, and ways of seeing and constructing the world. The encoding is also present at the level on institutions in setting the parameters for legitimacy and the connected rules for inclusion and exclusion.

Decades after Independence, the dreams of liberation have not been realised as political independence seemed to usher in and strengthen other forms of imperialism and control. In addition, the Independence experience and the ascendance of neoliberal globalization reveal the complicity of local elites and institutions in the misdevelopment of Caribbean societies. With these contradictions of Independence, the continued Euro-American dominance in the production of knowledge and information has been one of the greatest stumbling blocks to authentic Caribbean development. This paper explores how the dynamics of knowledge production and the accompanying power relations maintain dominant hierarchies and narratives, undermines resistance and short-circuits the ability of Caribbean people to visualize alternatives. It is this paper's contention that it is only through uncovering and interrogating the roots and dynamics of colonial misdevelopment in the Caribbean, that the region's ability to imagine alternatives to hegemonic development paradigms can be unlocked.

In the mainstream literature, in textbooks and curricula, globalization is defined mainly in term... more In the mainstream literature, in textbooks and curricula, globalization is defined mainly in terms of free trade and the movement towards a global village and one global culture, driven by advances in technology. It is the contention of the paper that such narratives of Globalization disguise the power relations, the effects of unequal production of knowledge and the privileging of the violent socioeconomic agendas of dominant world powers. Globalization, has not just meant global integration and the compression of space and time, but most importantly for peoples of the global south it has meant integration according to the agendas of dominant world powers, undemocratic so-called international organizations and corporate interests.

With these realities have come new forms of violence. Science and technology, while opening up new possibilities including new spaces for alternative voices to articulate themselves, has also been harnessed as a tool in epistemic violence. This particularly manifests in the destruction, demonization, marginalization, omission, silencing and ignoring of the ‘other’: particularly the non-Western, non-Euro-American, non-Judeo Christian, non-patriarchal and non-Capitalist worldviews. This paper explores the implications of these dynamics, which has resulted in increased inequalities and challenges, despite the rhetoric embedded in the narratives of Neoliberal Globalization.

The issues of culture and resistance of colonized people has however come to the forefront increa... more The issues of culture and resistance of colonized people has however come to the forefront increasingly in recent years as Caribbean academics have become more assertive in re-writing and re-visioning the Caribbean against the background of tendencies within the mainstream literature to strip Caribbean people of agency. The contribution of the Rasta movement in this era of neo-liberal Globalisation has however not been been properly recorded and debated within the Caribbean consciousness.In this vein, this paper seeks to explore the connection between the Rasta movement and the challenging of dominant Eurocentric discourses in the post Independence Caribbean. The Rasta movement as a manifestation of an African Caribbean worldview embodies a strong challenge to mainstream society, inclusive of the development ideology, academia, the devaluation of indigenous culture and history, and the hierarchies of race, colour and class that characterize post-Independence Caribbean societies.

Looking at the early life of Arthur Lewis we see a man who is expressive in challenging the domin... more Looking at the early life of Arthur Lewis we see a man who is expressive in challenging the dominant structures of imperialism at the time. Yet as time goes along we see a shift towards a conservative middle-class position that aligned closely to narratives of coloniality. The early Arthur Lewis reminded the British Colonial Office of the damaging effects of slavery and white supremacy, challenged their racist hiring practices and criticised writers for being imperial apologists. This contrasts sharply with the older Arthur Lewis who discouraged students from addressing coloniality and who could not see the brilliance and power in working class African culture, whether in the Caribbean, Africa or the United States. Part of the reason seems to be that his anti- colonialism was mainly in terms of resistance against overt and direct manifestations of imperialism rather than the broader range of epistemologies and ontologies of empire.

London School of Economics and Political Science, Dec 14, 2020

According to Cowen and Shenton (1996) the concept of development has over 700 definitions. This r... more According to Cowen and Shenton (1996) the concept of development has over 700 definitions. This reflects the contested nature of the development discourse and its many different definitions, approaches, and ideologies. Development has been expressed from the perspectives of structural functionalism, marxism, feminism, postcolonialism, poststructuralism and most recently decoloniality. However, the discourse of development has not been a meritocratic or inclusive process. Biases within the production of knowledge have pervaded both the narratives and counter-narratives of development. Academic, white, global north and male voices have occupied a privileged position (Grosfoguel 2011; Kothari 2006) with this having the effect of silencing and making invisible perspectives that emanate from the deeper experiences of western modernity/coloniality. This has given rise to the tendency towards Eurocentric critiques of the Eurocentric (Mpofu 2017; Ndlovu-Gatsheni 2012). Even when thinkers emerge from the global south to offer critiques, these voices tend to reflect the internal race, colour, class (etc) hierarchies within the global south. All of this translates into a lack of urgency towards excavating non-European, non-Judeo Christian, non-bourgeois, non-capitalist and non-patriarchal voices that have been discarded into the dustbin of history within the last 500 years of western modernity/coloniality.

Decolonial Perspectives on Entangled Inequalities: Europe and The Caribbean, 2021

Throughout the history of western modernity/coloniality there has been a direct relationship betw... more Throughout the history of western modernity/coloniality there has been a direct relationship between the erasure of history and the perpetuation of violent ideologies and structures. This chapter juxtaposes the amnesia in mainstream understandings of history and the historical world view of Rastafarians. Drawing upon fieldwork done in the Caribbean country of Trinidad and Tobago, it attempts to connect the erasure of memory and the forced severing of subaltern identities to ongoing structures of coloniality. At the same time, it explores the Rastafari worldview as a project of remembering. The emergence of the Rastafari movement in Trinidad and Tobago occurred in the 1960s. During this period country achieved political independence, yet this was insufficient to dismantle the structures of a plantation society. It was not until the 1970s following the repression of the Black Power movement that the Rasta movement expanded exponentially with a worldview that clashed with the orientations of mainstream society. Even as early Rastas experienced violence from state institutions and contempt from many citizens, their identity involved a creative reframing of African and Caribbean history. The existence of this counterculture has deep implications for contemporary understandings of modernity, resistance and global inequalities in the production of knowledge.

According to Cowen and Shenton (1996) the concept of development has over 700 definitions. This r... more According to Cowen and Shenton (1996) the concept of development has over 700 definitions. This reflects the contested nature of the development discourse and its many different definitions, approaches, and ideologies. Development has been expressed from the perspectives of structural functionalism, marxism, feminism, postcolonialism, poststructuralism and most recently decoloniality. However, the discourse of development has not been a meritocratic or inclusive process. Biases within the production of knowledge have pervaded both the narratives and counter-narratives of development. Academic, white, global north and male voices have occupied a privileged position (Grosfoguel 2011; Kothari 2006) with this having the effect of silencing and making invisible perspectives that emanate from the deeper experiences of western modernity/coloniality. This has given rise to the tendency towards Eurocentric critiques of the Eurocentric (Mpofu 2017; Ndlovu-Gatsheni 2012). Even when thinkers emerge from the global south to offer critiques, these voices tend to reflect the internal race, colour, class (etc) hierarchies within the global south. All of this translates into a lack of urgency towards excavating non-European, non-Judeo Christian, non-bourgeois, non-capitalist and non-patriarchal voices that have been discarded into the dustbin of history within the last 500 years of western modernity/coloniality.