We are a collective of scholars and writers who probe the meaning and legacy of colonialism in our world in order to articulate new visions of freedom. We understand colonialism as a historical institution that continues to shape global politics and culture, and we believe that postcolonial humanities have a vital role to play in contesting neocolonial formations and imperialism’s contemporary mutations. Mindful of at least four decades of terminological wrangling (when, where, and what was the postcolonial), we know that “post” does not mean “past” and that the uncertain present of endless war, converging catastrophe, and worsening global inequality demands new forms and modes of thought. We propose that we develop such thinking together, learning from anticolonial solidarities and epistemologies of decolonization. The web of empire entangles the world, and we aim to fathom these connections and envision political futures that recognize them.

We understand postcolonial critique as a comparative project, inclusive of the literature and culture of former colonies, alongside insurgent minority cultures from across the globe. Contemporary postcolonial thought is not limited to a focus on the relationship of the European metropole to the Afro/Caribbean/South Asian colony and postcolony; it addresses contemporary formations of US imperialism, South-South exchange, and Indigenous sovereignty. While we prioritize the vantage of the postcolony, we welcome scholars committed to a variety of creative and critical projects on race, gender, sexuality, class, diaspora, war, ecology, and matter. Recognizing the formative impact of postcolonial theory on disciplines as varied as anthropology, art history, dance, disability studies, environmental humanities, film and media studies, gender studies, geography, LGBTQ studies, literary studies, and music, we open up a space for mutual exploration and dialogue, welcoming transmedial and multidisciplinary approaches to past, present, and future.