Introduction to the Special Issue: In Dialogue with Fanonian and Southern Thought

Abstract

Against the backdrop of the global pandemic, which has deepened existing global struggles against coloniality and racist, heteropatriarchal, and capitalist social formations, this special issue focuses on Fanon, Southern Theory, and Psychoanalysis: Dialogues on Race, Gender, and Sexuality. In dialogue with the work of Frantz Fanon—a key figure in thinking on colonialism and decolonization— and other critical thinkers from the Global South, the contributors raise important questions about the place and relevance of psychoanalysis in contemporary thought and practice. The special issue invites readers to consider the creative and liberatory possibilities for psychoanalysis within and without its epistemic and clinical norms and traditions. This article introduces the special issue and summarizes the nine contributions included here.