Abstract

Postcolonial studies, which engage with the enduring legacies of global colonialism and imperialism, are currently facing intense criticism, particularly from right-wing circles but also from some liberal perspectives. These critiques claim that postcolonial studies opposes Enlightenment ideals and promotes nihilism, that it is Eurocentric, and that it is antisemitic. My presentation, however, contends that such accusations are often rooted in fundamental misunderstandings of the decolonization project. I aim to explore the "missed encounters" between postcolonial and Holocaust studies, while also clarifying the "mistaken identity" between postcolonial and decolonial approaches. Against the accusation of normative nihilism, my talk focuses on the contradictory consequences of the Enlightenment without adopting an anti-Enlightenment stance. For me, "rescuing the Enlightenment from Europe" involves recognizing that the Enlightenment is indispensable for the pursuit of critical projects, while still accounting for its "toxic legacy.

Speaker Bio

Nikita Dhawan holds the Chair in Political Theory and History of Ideas at the Technical University Dresden. Her research and teaching focuses on global justice, human rights, democracy and decolonization. She received the Käthe Leichter Award in 2017 for outstanding achievements in the pursuit of women's and gender studies and in support of the women's movement and the achievement of gender equality. She has held visiting fellowships at Universidad de Costa Rica; Institute for International Law and the Humanities, The University of Melbourne, Australia; Program of Critical Theory, University of California, Berkeley, USA; University of La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain; Pusan National University, South Korea; Columbia University, New York, USA. In 2023 she was awarded the Gerda Henkel Visiting Professorship at Stanford University and the Thomas Mann Fellowship in Los Angeles.