On Decolonization and its Correlates

This essay offers a critical analysis of the literature on decolonization (and its correlates), from the studies carried out by colonial agents and administrators to the recent vogue for postcolonial and decolonial studies. It highlights the limitations of the top-down approach of most studies up to the 1970s, the binarism that has characterized contemporary studies, and the conceptual ambivalence as well as marketing perspective that distinguish the decolonial approach. Lastly, it considers the idea of using the conceptual framework of creolization studies and the ideas of Oswald de Andrade on anthropophagy to get a better understanding of decolonization.