Why Is Everyone Talking About Decolonization?

About this episode:

A concept new to most in the general public, but already established and influential in academic circles, "settler colonialism" is shaping the way many people think about the history of the United States, Israel and Palestine, and a host of political issues.

By critiquing the most important writers, texts, and ideas in the field, Adam Kirsch shows how the concept emerged in the context of North American and Australian history and how it is being applied to Israel. He examines the sources of its appeal, which, he argues, are spiritual as much as political; how it works to delegitimize nations; and why it has the potential to turn indignation at past injustices into a source of new injustices today.

Adam Kirsch is the author of several books of poetry and criticism. A 2016 Guggenheim Fellow, Kirsch is an editor at the Wall Street Journal’s Weekend Review section and has written for publications including The New Yorker, Slate, The Times Literary Supplement, The New York Times Book Review, Poetry, and Tablet. His new book is On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice.