QUESTION 1: Indigenous vs. Western approaches to the environment Cordova, de la

QUESTION 1: Indigenous vs. Western approaches to the environment
Cordova, de la Cadena, and le Grange all write about the perspectives of Indigenous groups (Indigenous Americans, Indigenous Andean peoples, and the Indigenous South African group, the Xhosa, respectively). They make very similar points about the way the modern discourses (about universal truth, westernized political systems, and global capitalism) understand Homo sapiens and their relation to the environment in ways that conflict with Indigenous concepts and ways of knowing those same relations.
Compare and contrast these positions. First, describe each of these thinkers positions with respect to the problems of universality (or the claim to universality), unification and homoginzation (rather than plurality), and desingularization. (Hint: focus on epistemology and ontology, and focus on theses, not whole arguments). Specifically, in your work, describe Cordova’s concern with the idea of universality, who/which worldview/s take that stance, what’s the problem with this (what does universality miss) and what does she propose instead? Outline de la Cadena’s concerns with homogenization and unification and then use this to explain the why Indigenous Andean concept of mountains as political entities is unthinkable to political figures on both the right and left (why is that, for de Cadena). Why does she argue we need to slow down reason and what does this mean/achieve in terms of plurality? Explain le Grange’s concept of desingularization, why this is a problem (for whom/what), and how the concept of Ubuntu is one path forward that re-singularizes even as it also better connects human relations to the environment. In the second major portion of this essay, explain what these three ideas/perspectives have in common or where they differ. What are their respective strengths, and what do they collectively tell us about Indigenous responses to homogenizing global movements (like capitalism, global political discourse, etc), and improved concepts of human-a