ABSTRACT
The concept "decolonial turn" has been used to indicate the theoretical, artistic, and political relevance of a wide variety of positions in multiple geographical regions and fields of enquiry. Decolonizing thought arose in the very first moments of the conquest and colonization of the Americas, now more than 500 years ago. This chapter offers some clarification with respect to the concepts of colonization, decolonization, and related concepts such as emancipation and liberation. It describes a genealogy of the decolonial turn and introduces some examples of the decolonial turn as found in the work of a number of figures from the Caribbean and the Latin Americas. The historical coincidence of the end of the Cold War and the celebration of the 500th year anniversary of the "discovery" of the Americas inaugurate a third massive moment of the decolonial turn.
