Abstract

Emerson-martí: rupture (of) colonial thinkers

This paper elaborates on the divergence of Marti’s way of thinking in relation to the philosopher from the United States of America, Ralph Waldo Emerson, to whom Martí has been linked, and pointed as preponderant in the gestation of the masterpiece Nuestra América. Nonetheless, the investigation considers the work of the thinker José Martí from the point of view of post-colonialialty and decoloniality in order to point out the clear differences between both thinkers in regards to geopolitics of knowledge, the discourse of difference, and the interstices from which both could converge. The texts Muerte de Emerson, Nuestra América, and Placeres y Problemas de septiembre by José Martí, as well as the essay “Destino” by Ralph Waldo Emerson are elaborated upon. Consequently, Marti’s thought is established as the initiator of the logic of colonial resistance, distancing himself from the general position from which Martí is subordinated by Emerson.

Key words: post coloniality; Martí; Emerson; transcendentalism; coloniality; geopolítics; corpo politics; decoloniality