Postcolonial discourse has called into question the historic Western Enlightenment by demonstrating its links to violent colonialism, chattel slavery, Indigenous genocide, and persistent institutional and cultural racism.

Sir Hilary Beckles suggests that the growing global reparatory justice movement—particularly as it emanates from the higher education sector—may present the best potential for an authentic 21st-century Enlightenment. Universities are now deeply researching their role, functions, and legacies within the Atlantic slave complex and exploring where these discursive discoveries, as crimes against humanity, will lead—back into the future or forward against the past.

Join us for this discussion with Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, chair of the CARICOM Reparations Commission, and an activist for social justice.

Beckles' lecture and campus visit are part of the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies' Distinguished Speaker series and ongoing work on Inequalities, Identities, and Justice. The lecture is the closing event in the 60th anniversary Public Issues Forum series of the Einaudi Center's Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program. The event is funded in part by the A.D. White Professor-At-Large Program, a Migrations initiative grant, and a LACS Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language (UISFL) grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
  • How the post-colonial view of western Enlightenment is tied to the violence of colonialism, chattel slavery, Indigenous genocide, and racism
  • How the global reparations justice movement creates the possibility for an authentic 21st-century Enlightenment
  • How universities researching their own role, function, and legacy in the Atlantic slave complex can guide us into the future and counter its past

View Keynote by completing the form below.

Gain access to this free event

By providing your contact information, you consent to receive communications from Cornell University, including with the use of automated technology.  You can opt out at any time.  By selecting the text box, you consent to Cornell texting you.  You confirm this phone number belongs to you.  Message and data rates may apply.  You can reply STOP to opt out of texts at any time. Full Terms | Privacy Policy