Historical and Cultural Interconnections between Latin America and Asia Series

East Asia, Latin America, and the Decolonization of Transpacific Studies

Published 4 January 2022

In this collective work, researchers from different disciplines reflect upon the challenges and opportunities of decolonizing transpacific studies through the lens of a few paradigmatic case-studies that deal with connections between East Asia and Latin America. The present book offers a productive problematization of the idea of the transpacific as a concept and a space that is not restricted to a single definition. We defend that the transpacific can instead promote an understanding of agents and experiences that share many common traits that have been generally overlooked by a hegemonic interpretation of knowledge and the relationship between regions.By fostering an environment that not only accepts a plurality of views but that actively looks to accommodate analogous, tangential, and even contradicting approaches to the study of our ideas, we seek a double objective. First, we hope to highlight precisely the richness within the idea of the transpacific, avoiding sticking to any particular conception to it while at the same time acknowledging and owning each of our points of enunciation. Our second objective is part of a constant struggle in the quest towards social and epistemic justice. By adopting this stance of plurality, we can fight against structures of knowledge production and reproduction that willingly or unintentionally instill specific interpretations in ways that inculcate exclusivity.

The goal of this book is opening up and expanding the debate regarding transpacific connections, examining the limits and promises of including these experiences within the conceptual paradigm of the Global South, and showcasing different ways of approaching decolonial research to the study of the relationship between East Asia and Latin America.