Colonialism's Past and Present

Colonialism is often associated with the violent seizure of the Americas and the enslavement of Africa, but its roots and implications go farther than most history texts show. Two new books from Duke University professors explore the nature of colonialism. One examines the role psychoanalysis played in colonial rule, and the other offers ideas about what kinds of challenges to Western colonialism exist in the 21st century. Host Frank Stasio talks about colonialism's past, present and future with Deborah Jenson of the Haiti Humanities Laboratory at Duke University and co-editor and contributor to “Unconscious Dominions: Psychoanalysis, Colonial Trauma, and Global Sovereignties” (Duke University Press/2011); Walter Mignolo, the William H. Wannamaker Professor of Romance Studies at Duke’s Center for Global Studies and the Humanities and author of "The Darker Side of Western Modernity: Global Futures, Decolonial Options" (Duke University Press/2011); and Stuart Rennie, assistant professor in social medicine and co-chair of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Institutional Review Board for Social and Behavioral Research.