What all of these authors have in commun is their commitment to a just society. Their work is not merely done on a desk, but also alongside communities. They involve themselves with political causes, putting their knowledge at the service of oppressed groups. Praxis and theory are indissociable and they are living proof of that. It is not enough to write and theorise, we must go out and fight.
Mara Viveros: Her work on masculinity helps us better understand how privileges and oppressions step on each other. In her studies, she links race, ethnicity, class, gender and sexuality to have a better comprehension of racism, patriarchy, capitalism, and other oppressive systems.
Rita Segato: She has worked on violence on women. Through her analysis, we understand that gender violence is not about sexuality or desire, but about power. She delves into coloniality and capitalism as patriarchal systems.
Ochy Curiel: One of the most rigorous feminist I have read. Her work explores the imbrications of gender, sexuality, race and class from a decolonial point of view. She challenges hegemonic theories proving they obey liberal politics and capital interests.
Arturo Escobar: He works on political ecology, social movements, Colombian conflict, and mostly, on the creation of ‘Third World’ countries to serve geopolitical and economic interests.
Orlando Fals Borda: He is one of the founders of Participatory Action Research. He is very important for social sciences because he stated that academic/intellectual work must be linked with political praxis. Also, he made an emphasis on the creation of knowledge from the periphery.
Paulo Freire: He changed forever the education field. He wrote extensively on critical pedagogy and stated that teaching is a moral and political practice and that it goes way beyond the classroom.
Estanislao Zuleta: His conferences on philosophy, economy, psychoanalysis and education helped us better understand Colombian conflict and Latin America politics in a more profound way, exploring more than just class struggle.
Aníbal Quijano: His work is central to decolonial thought and to the critical analysis of modernity. Studying coloniality of power, he proves colonial dynamics never ended. He explored the consequences of coloniality and how it is deeply ingrained in our way of conceptualising our reality.
María Lugones: She studied the relation between gender and coloniality, proving gender as a strictly binary concept comes from colonial practices and stating it is an imposition from the modern project of society.
Camilo Torres: A central figure to liberation theology. His work on marxism and catholicism shaped a whole generation of religious people around the world stating that fighting for equity and social justice is an obligation of every Christian. He is one of the most important icons in the resistance movement in Colombia.
Enrique Dussel: He has an extensive intellectual production on ethics, philosophy, economy, theology, and so much more. He is the founder of the philosophy of liberation, and is a huge critic of eurocentrism, occidentalism, and imperialism. A key figure in decolonial thought.
Adriana Guzmán: Her work on communitarian feminism has confront white, liberal feminism, talking from an indigenous point of view. Her voice is crucial not only for feminism but for every social movement as she teaches how to give a fight that includes every oppressed group, without prioritising or dividing struggles.
Alfredo Molano: His narrative work gave us a huge look at the roots and causes of Colombian conflict. Also, he showed us that narrative texts can be a powerful sociological tool.
Read Cuban revolutionaries too!
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