Our Mission

Postcolonial Networks brings together scholars, activists, and leaders with the urgency of a movement to foster decolonized relationships, innovative scholarship, and social transformation.

Postcolonial Networks Board

Monthly Archives: June 2012

Review of Royce M. Victor, 2010, Colonial Education and Class Formation in Early Judaism: A Postcolonial Reading Journal of Postcolonial Theory and Theology,Library of Second Temple Studies 72, London and New York: T&T Clark, pp. 224.

June 11th, 2012|

A revision of the author’s doctoral dissertation, this monograph has a two-pronged focus. First, drawing primarily from 1 and 2 Maccabees, it examines how “the Greek gymnasium established in Jerusalem in the second century BCE was used to educate the local elites to function politically, ethnically, and economically within the Greek Empire and particularly in Judea, by creating a separate class of ‘Hellenized Jews’ among the local Jewish population” (p. vii). As a second area of focus, Victor argues that the British education system in early nineteenth century India was employed in a similar way to create a class of Indians to serve in the British colonial system. As such, Victor’s work “makes an inquiry into how colonialism functioned and continues to function in both the ancient and modern societies” (p. vii).

Ogbu U. Kalu, Peter Vethanayagamony and Edmund Kee-Fook Chia, 2010. Mission After Christendom: Emergent Themes in Contemporary Mission. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 177pp.

June 7th, 2012|

Mission after Christendom: Emergent Themes in Contemporary Mission derives its impetus and draws inspiration from the one-hundred year anniversary of the historic Edinburgh 1910 conference which is widely recognized as a watershed event in the modern ecumenical movement. This significant collection of essays skillfully weaves together papers on mission presented on various occasions under the auspices of the Chicago Centre for Global Ministries, to reflect the challenges and possibilities inherent in the rich tapestry of twenty-first century mission. Familiar missiological terrain is revisited and hitherto under-explored territory boldly delved into to engender a fresh vision for mission.

Review of De La Torre, Miguel A. 2010. Latina/o Social Ethics: Moving Beyond Eurocentric Moral Thinking. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 157pp.

June 3rd, 2012|

Recent events in the past two years show that the subject of human rights of Latinos/as in the United States is more urgent than ever. The enforcement of Arizona immigration law SB1070 and subsequent similar legislation in Alabama and North Carolina, have shown that the path to full recognition of the rights and freedoms of the U.S. Latino/a community is long, and that there is much to be done. The DREAM Act, which seeks to provide educational opportunities to low-income youth—of which Latinos/as are a large percentage, has been in U.S. Congress for years, and has suffered continuous rejection by legislators and conservative organizations.

Two-Spirited Sexuality and White Universality

June 2nd, 2012|

The creation of two-spirited identity has also been a way for aboriginal sexual and gender minorities to distance ourselves from gay and lesbian identity. It is difficult for White LGBTQ audiences to hear about such distancing without imposing a narrative of internalized homophobia upon it...