Diffractive Assemblies and Invertebrate Spaces: Communal Struggle in the Mexican Anthropocene

Abstract: The importance of spaces of resistance lies in their ability to subvert and even change the hegemonic discourse. However, and despite extensive research on geopolitics and space-making processes, little has been said on the power that subaltern spaces can have in this area. Thus, it is the aim of this thesis to demonstrate the existence and strength of these space-making practices – which I choose to call invertebrate spaces. That is, diffracted spaces of radical play that can allow for the insertion of subaltern identities into the hegemonic discourse. To exemplify this, I have performed extensive ethnographic research on three subaltern civil rights groups in Mexico City. I chose this so-called postcolonial country because of its inherent subalternity in the world stage, and its continuing process of coloniality. This setting also allows me to clearly delineate the role of invertebrate spaces and their importance within the current decolonial body of work. Moreover, it leads me to argue that their furthering and nourishment is a moral imperative that should be taken up by academics and universities alike.