Naomi Hardin

Date Approved

2024

Degree Type

Open Access Senior Honors Thesis

Department or School

Political Science

First Advisor

Volker Krause, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Shu Wang, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Barbara Patrick, Ph.D.

Abstract

In this work, I argue for the necessity of framing settler colonialism as an ongoing process of exploitation and genocide, rather than an event of the past. Understanding settler colonialism as ongoing allows us to recognize how white supremacy utilizes direct and indirect forms of violence to not just occupy land but extract resources, build infrastructure that ensures its survival, and displace indigenous peoples. I offer first a sketch of settler colonialism as it is happening in Palestine, Algeria, and the Americas. I engage with books and research essays to think comparatively about these phenomena & further reveal the legacies empires have left in these regions. I expect to identify models of settlement which include resource extraction and establishment of bureaucratic forces and world power relationships that allow for settler colonialism to be continually reproduced. I then endeavor to express how personal record is a powerful tool in capturing and combating settler colonialism whilst it is happening. By understanding settler colonialism as ongoing systems of domination we honor the lives, rights, and culture of those under its rule.

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