By Nicole D. Stevens (Department of Comparative Studies)

The Worlds in Contention conference prompted several questions in my own research about the utility of neoliberalism to discuss racial capitalism and, more specifically, the ways that questions of fungibility and authenticity can be used to understand global anti-Blackness. In particular, Dr. Inés Valdez and Dr. Megan Ming Francis’s papers, although schematically distinct and separate from one another, created one central question for me in conjunction with my research: how does racially motivated neoliberalism allow opportunities for anti-Blackness to flourish and how does this success of anti-Blackness concern different ontological and political questions? Although my work is largely focused on Sylvia Wynter’s conceptualization of Western humanism, as I explain later, this question is urgent to understanding precisely how the mechanisms that govern our current state, both political and economic, operate to continuously redefine the capacities and capabilities of white supremacy. Continue reading Shadowy Neoliberalism and the Impacts of Racial Capitalism →