Ideas worth spreading

Why is colonialism (still) romanticized?

2,086,728 views | Farish Ahmad-Noor • TEDxNTU

Colonialism remains an inescapable blight on the present, lingering in the toxic, internalized mythologies and stereotypes that have outlived the regimes that created them, says historian Farish Ahmad-Noor. Examining why these prejudices and narratives persist (and sometimes thrive), he suggests a multidisciplinary approach to reject cultural obsessions with romanticized history and prevent this nostalgia from perpetuating past oppressions.

Colonialism remains an inescapable blight on the present, lingering in the toxic, internalized mythologies and stereotypes that have outlived the regimes that created them, says historian Farish Ahmad-Noor. Examining why these prejudices and narratives persist (and sometimes thrive), he suggests a multidisciplinary approach to reject cultural obsessions with romanticized history and prevent this nostalgia from perpetuating past oppressions.

This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxNTU, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

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About the speaker

Farish Ahmad-Noor

Farish Ahmad-Noor

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Farish Ahmad-Noor believes that we can never truly escape history but we need not be victims of it either.

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This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxNTU, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.