(De)colonial Solidarities Symposium

On 27–28 August, the WHISOL project hosted the symposium “(De)colonial Solidarities: Whiteness, Colonialism, and the Politics of Allyship” at the University of Turku.

Over two intense days, thirty scholars from around the world, participating both in person and online, presented across seven panels spanning settler-Indigenous relations, identity and whiteness, environmental coalitions, South-South solidarities, and the impasses and potentials of solidarity activism. Discussions were embedded in a range of issues from feminism to settler colonialism, and spanned diverse geographical contexts across the globe. The event brought together historians, political scientists, literary scholars, philosophers, and Indigenous Studies scholars in conversation across disciplines and case studies.

The symposium closed with a fundraising dinner and discussion with local activists, co-organized with Turku with Palestine, connecting the two days of academic exchange with ongoing on-the-ground solidarity work.

We are grateful to all speakers, chairs, and our two discussants, Kevin Bruyneel (Babson College) and Katri Somby (Sámi University of Applied Sciences), who led the concluding discussions on each day and contributed to two days of generous and thought-provoking conversation.

Stay tuned for upcoming publications!