Aye Aye Books Ariella Aisha Azoulay Potential History
-
Artist book selection - Satellites 2024
A passionately urgent call for all of us to unlearn imperialism and repair the violent world we share
In this theoretical tour-de-force, renowned scholar Ariella Aïsha Azoulay calls on us to recognize the imperial foundations of knowledge and to refuse its strictures and its many violences.
Azoulay argues that the institutions that make our world, from archives and museums to ideas of sovereignty and human rights to history itself, are all dependent on imperial modes of thinking. Imperialism has segmented populations into differentially governed groups, continually emphasised the possibility of progress while trying to destroy what came before, and voraciously sought out the new by sealing the past away in dusty archival boxes and the glass vitrines of museums.
By practising what she calls potential history, Azoulay argues that we can still refuse the imperial violence that shattered communities, lives, and worlds, from native peoples in the Americas to the Congo ruled by Belgium’s brutal King Léopold II, from dispossessed Palestinians in 1948 to displaced refugees in our own day. In Potential History, Azoulay travels alongside historical companions — an old Palestinian man who refused to leave his village in 1948, an anonymous woman in war-ravaged Berlin, looted objects and documents torn from their worlds and now housed in archives and museums — to chart the ways imperialism has sought to order time, space, and politics.
Rather than looking for a new future, Azoulay calls upon us to rewind history and unlearn our imperial rights, to continue to refuse imperial violence by making present what was invented as “past” and making the repair of torn worlds the substance of politics. -
Standard delivery items are usually dispatched within 4 business days after the order has been placed. We aim to deliver UK orders within 5-7 business days. International delivery times vary depending on the location.
All deliveries are dispatched using Royal Mail or a tracked courier. All tracking information will be sent via email.
We also offer a pick up from store option at the checkout.
Country Standard shipping Courier over £150 UK £6.50 £15 Europe £20 £35 Rest of World £35 £50 Please note overseas customers may find their orders are subject to import duties and taxes, which may be levied once a delivery reaches its destination country. These charges are the responsibility of the customer.
Returns
If for any reason you are not entirely happy with your purchase we will be happy to issue an exchange or refund within 30 days of receipt.
An exchange or refund will be issued provided that you notify us before sending the item and that the item returned is in its original and unused condition, with all tags still attached.
All refunds will be reimbursed via your original payment method.
Postage and packaging costs are non-refundable, except in the event that the goods are faulty.To return your product, please mail it to:
Collective Matter, City Observatory, 38 Calton Hill, Edinburgh, EH7 5AA, UK
Please include a note detailing why you are returning the item as well as your order number.
You will be responsible for paying for your own shipping costs for returning your item.