| Periodical Title | APA Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy |
| Author(s) | Julio Covarrubias |
| Abstract | This paper critiques the discourse of mestizaje (racial/cultural mixing) in Latin American philosophy and identity theories as an epistemic injustice that erases indigenous peoples. Situating Latin America as a settler colonial society built on indigenous dispossession, the author traces mestizaje’s origins to Spanish colonial racial castes and nation-building projects that eliminated indigenous self-determination. Persistent usages of mestizaje reproduce this logic of elimination and settler erasure of dynamic indigenous identities and futures. Through Jorge Gracia’s philosophical account of Hispanic identity, the author shows how allegedly “neutral” appeals to historical mixing and hybridity impose colonial categories that erase indigenous peoples as peoples. Thus, Latinx philosophers should reject mestizaje discourse to avoid replicating harms to indigenous peoples. The conceptual decolonization of Latinx philosophy requires letting go of tropes that eliminate indigenous worlds. This content was generated by artificial intelligence using the text of the original work. |
| Pages | 4-8 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Published Keywords | Latin American philosophy, mestizaje, settler colonialism, indigenous identity, decolonization, epistemic injustice This content was generated by artificial intelligence using the text of the original work. |
| Date Published | Spring 2019 |
| URL | https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.apaonline.org/resource/collection/60044C96-F3E0-4049-BC5A-271C673FA1E5/HispanicV18n2.pdf |
| Open Access? | Yes |
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