This monthly series is based on interests we share with two major NYU research programs, the Postcolonial Anglophone Project and the Re:Enlightenment Project, in order to engage in productive dialogue on the genesis and evolution of theories, political thought and institutions. Interdisciplinary by nature, postcolonial theory is the exemplification of the conceptual force of theory in translation across boundaries.  A case in point is the transmission of so-called French theory, itself in part a product of colonial history, to English, American and South Asian academia. Studies in Enlightenment, often constrained by national boundaries, have focused on how knowledge has been constituted and institutionalized. These questions intersect with those involved in literary studies today as they seek to articulate the diversity of languages with the notion of “globalization”.

This series will give us the theoretical grounding for a critical examination of policies on multilingualism, literature, and cultural diversity, and the manifestation of these, over four continents: in the USA, Europe, Africa and India. The association between specialists of Enlightenment, postcolonial, and literary studies, will shed light on often neglected zones of enquiry.

The partnership involved in this program includes Columbia University, New York; Université des Antilles-Guyanne (France); University of Vigo (Spain); University of the Witwatersrand (Johannesburg, South Africa), Jamia Millia University (Delhi, India).

Emilienne Baneth-Nouailheitas, Cliff Siskin, Robert Young