Cultural participation and postcoloniality
a U.S. case study
pp. 213-234
in: Purushottama Bilimoria, Andrew B. Irvine (eds), Postcolonial philosophy of religion, Berlin, Springer, 2009Abstract
The chapter discusses ways of imagining cultural authority. Part I outlines Samuel Fleischacker's liberal theory that cultures are "authoritative traditions' posited for coherent moral action. Part II evaluates this proposal through an examination of the writings of two U.S. Latino theologians, Roberto S. Goizueta and Ada Mara Isasi-Díaz. They articulate a practice of culture neglected by Fleischacker but constitutive of the (marginalized) cultural authority of U.S. Latinos, namely "mestizaje": belonging to several cultures and not fully to any. Attending to "mestizaje", the hidden prejudices of liberal egalitarianism can be addressed constructively for the sake of enhanced cultural participation.