The Postcolonial Hierarchies in Peace & Conflict Network’s first Think Lab took place at one of its participating institutions, the Arnold Bergstraesser Institut (ABI) in Freiburg at the University of Freiburg. During the Think Lab, the Network addressed its defining notion: “postcolonial hierarchies”. The main goal of the Think Lab was to articulate a shared definition/understanding of “postcolonial hierarchies” while acknowledging the specificities of the concept and contexts.
Over two days, scholars of the Network and invited guest-speakers (Madina Tlostanova; Filiberto Penados; Layla D. Brown; Amya Agarwal; Emery Mudinga; Roxana Willis; Piro Rexhepi; Mahdis Azarmandi; Emile Sunjo) interrogated three of the conceptual tenets of the research Network, namely: postcoloniality, decoloniality, and hierarchies. The scholars discussed the different meanings attached to each concept, their temporal and geographical trajectories, their origins and context-specific translations, focusing on the field of peace and conflict studies.
The first session of the Think Lab revolved around conceptualizations of postcoloniality and decoloniality – addressing their origins, meanings, and interrelation. The participants also considered methodological implications for the Network’s research, including issues of reflexivity and positionality. The second session aimed at discussing practical aspects of theoretical contributions, namely, the implications of the discussed themes to the Network’s work packages and individual research of participants.
