God dwells in Flesh: Decolonial Ecojustice and Planetary Ethics in the “Anthropocene”

• Claudia Jahnel Ruhr-University Bochum

DOI: https://doi.org/10.7833/122-1-2135

Keywords: Decolonial Epistemology, Indigenous Knowledge Systems, Post-human Ethics, Relational Ecojustice, Postcolonial Ecocriticism, Creative Uncertainty

Abstract

This article provides a preliminary cartography of the intersections of theories, approaches and challenges associated with the “decolonisation” of ecojustice in the Anthropocene. It correlates post- and decolonial theories which for long time have remained environmentally blind with posthuman theories, and confronts the theory of the Anthropocene with its blindness towards non-Western knowledge. Decolonial theory is called upon to put its human-centred presuppositions to the test, to adopt post-anthropocentric perspectives, and to include non-human nature in its critique of epistemic violence and “Western reason.” Ecojustice is a task that links the central post-/decolonial commitment to justice and liberation with ecological challenges.  The article is embedded in the field of intercultural theology and liberation theology, which provides some “material” that highlights the challenges at hand. The post-/decolonial and intercultural-theological reflection of ecojustice stimulates an incarnational theology that starts with the enfleshment and queering of God. Overall, the article suggests a decolonial reading of the Anthropocene and an unmasking of the persistent anthropocentric as well as Euro- and North American-centric perspective it holds, which continues to marginalise other forms of knowledge.