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UID:3162-a82243013daf6ac2e404a2cf4acfc229@events.la.psu.edu
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SUMMARY:“Unthinkable History: The American Settler State and the Political Econo
my of Plunder,” Michael Witgen
DESCRIPTION:\n&ldquo\;Unthinkable History: The American Settler State an
d the Political Economy of Plunder&rdquo\;\n\nMichael Witgen\, professor
in the Department of History and the Center for the Study of Ethnicity
and Race at Columbia University\n\nThe American Republic was founded as
a nation of settlers struggling to colonize Native North America. This p
roject began as an extension of the original European colonial project i
n the western hemisphere\, imagined as the discovery of a New World. Bot
h the original colonial scheme\, and the one undertaken by the United St
ates\, imagined North America as unsettled wilderness\, and imagined col
onization as a civilizing mission. Framed in this way\, the expansion of
the republic beyond the original thirteen states into the western inter
ior could be imagined as a benign conquest of nature\, when in fact it w
as an audacious colonial project&mdash\;a grandiose scheme to steal a co
ntinent. However\, a theft this bold would require more than merely a pl
an for colonial subjugation. It would require a colonial power willing t
o organize itself around a political economy of plunder. It would requir
e a totalizing colonial project that would make an Indigenous history of
North America unthinkable.\n\nFor more details: https://events.la.psu.e
du/event/hist-michael-witgen_091423/
X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:“Unthi
nkable History: The American Settler State and the Political Economy of
Plunder”
Michael Witgen, professor in the Departm
ent of History and the Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race at Col
umbia University
The American Republic was founded as a nation of
settlers struggling to colonize Native North America. This project began
as an extension of the original European colonial project in the wester
n hemisphere, imagined as the discovery of a New World. Both the origina
l colonial scheme, and the one undertaken by the United States, imagined
North America as unsettled wilderness, and imagined colonization as a c
ivilizing mission. Framed in this way, the expansion of the republic bey
ond the original thirteen states into the western interior could be imag
ined as a benign conquest of nature, when in fact it was an audacious co
lonial project—a grandiose scheme to steal a continent. However, a
theft this bold would require more than merely a plan for colonial subj
ugation. It would require a colonial power willing to organize itself ar
ound a political economy of plunder. It would require a totalizing colon
ial project that would make an Indigenous history of North America unthi
nkable.
For more details: https://events.la.psu.edu/event/hist-micha
el-witgen_091423/
LOCATION:Foster Auditorium, 102 Paterno Library
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