UCLA

The concept of mestizaje as a means to understand racial mixing in so-called Latin America has a long philosophical tradition, and is still used as a means to self identity in many current communities. However, that tradition goes beyond the colonization of the Americas and can be traced back to a Greco-European tradition of thought concerned with monsters. In fact, mestizaje itself parallels the concept of ‘monster’ because it is rooted in a framework of white supremacy that seeks to eradicate what it perceives to be an Indigenous monster. This project has four aims. First, to provide an historical overview of mestizaje as a colonial institution. Second, to trace its roots in the tradition of monster philosophy and illuminate the way it monsterizes people. Third, to explore its latest iteration in the work of the philosopher Gloria Anzald�a and demonstrate that no amount of positive reimagining will save such a flawed conception of people. Fourth, to offer an alternative way to self-identify in a colonial capitalistic world through community relationships.