Dates: Saturdays, November 19, 2022 - Feb 25, 2023 (Please note: no class November 26, December 24 or 31 for holidays)
Time: 12 - 1:30 ET
Admission: $140 (Patreon Members) / $150
Please note: PDF of the book supplied to all attendees

PLEASE NOTE: All classes will also be recorded and archived for students who cannot make that time, but it is highly recommended you attend the classes live for the richest experience.

"The wétikos destroyed Egypt and Babylon and Athens and Rome and Tenochtitlan and perhaps now they will destroy the entire earth." --Jack D. Forbes

In this reading group facilitated by Morbid Anatomy founder Joanna Ebenstein and artist and illustrator Diego López, we will read and analyze Columbus and Other Cannibals: The Wétiko Disease of Exploitation, Imperialism, and Terrorism, written by Native American writer, scholar, and UC Davis professor Jack Douglas Forbes.

In this seminal, powerful, and paradigm shifting book, Forbes examines the atrocities of Western culture as a sickness, a disease, personified by The Wétiko, or Wendigo—a First Nations cannibal monster. In so doing, he provides a new lens for understanding who we are, and how we might change.

The advance of the West has cast deep shadows across many worlds. What can explain the bloodthirsty behavior of conquistadors and settlers who flouted the precepts of the Judeo-Christian faiths they professed to follow? Why do societies burdened with histories of despicable violence laud the perpetrators and enshrine the practices that continue to engender such destruction? Forbes provides a compelling and provocative answer to these questions.

The book analyzes the imperialist drive--with a focus on the European and North American westward expansions--as a psychological and spiritual contagion. The author draws from the lore and ethics of Algonquian language cultures, in which these drives are personified by The Wétiko, better known in popular media as The Wendigo. This being is a monstrous cannibal plagued by a selfishness and hunger that increase with each new meal.

In its current guise, neoliberal globalization, extractivist capitalism is poised to consume the planet. Brutality against vulnerable humans, flora, fauna, and the soil itself are an everyday part of our shared culture. Outrage and powerlessness are understandable responses, and corporate power structures now encourage and monetize them with social media. Through the text, we will confront these forces, delving into how capitalist values affect our environment, communities, personal freedoms, and interiority.

Along the way, we'll read excerpts from authors like Eduardo Galeano and Silvia Federici, whose seminal texts support Forbes's thesis. More recent works by Mark Fisher and Tyson Yunkaporta, as well as films and podcasts, will also be integrated in order to show the progression of the wétiko psychosis since the publication of the main text in 1979.

CLASS SCHEDULE

Week One (November 19)

• Intro: The Central Problem of Human Life Today

• Ch. 1: The Genesis of the Universe and the Creation of Love

NO CLASS NOVEMBER 26

Week Two (December 3)

• Ch. 2: Consuming Another's Life: The Wétigo Cannibal Psychosis

Week Three (December 10)

• Ch. 3: Three Columbus: Cannibal and Hero Of Genocide

• Ch. 4: Deception, Brutality, And Greed: The Spread of the Disease

Week Four (December 17)

• Ch. 5: The Structure Of The Cannibal's Insanity: Arrogance, Lust, And Materialism

• Ch. 6: Becoming a Predator: The Process of Corruption

NO CLASS DECEMBER 24 OR 31

Week Five (January 7)

• Ch. 7: The Mátchi Syndrome: Fascination With Evil

Week Six (January 14)

• Ch. 8: Colonialism, Europeanization, and the Destruction of Native (Authentic) Cultures

Week Seven (January 21)

• Ch. 9: Savages, Free People, and the Loss Of Freedom

Week Eight (January 28)

• Ch. 10: Terrorism: A Frequent Aspect of Wétigo Behavior

Week Nine (February 4)

• Ch. 11: Male Violence, Female Subordination, and the Perpetuation of Aggressive Violence

• Ch. 12: Organized Crime: Planned Aggression, Planned Predation

Week Ten (February 11)

• Ch. 13: If Jesus Were to Return

• Ch. 14: Seeking Sanity: Reversing the Process of Brutalization

Week Eleven (February 18)

• Ch. 15: Finding A Good Path. A Path with Heart

• Addendum The Universe is our Holy Book

Week Twelve (February 25; Longer class—12 pm — 2:30 pm—to create room for projects)

• Final project presentations

Images:

• Windigo, by Norval Morriseau, also known as Copper Thunderbird, an Indigenous Canadian artist from the Bingwi Neyaashi Anishinaabek First Nation as seen on the book cover for Windigo: An Anthology of Fact and Fiction, edited by John Robert Colombo

• Beau Dick, Kwakwaka’wakw devoured by consumerism, Fazakas Gallery

• Windigo book cover

• Saturn Devouring his Children, Francisco Goya