The title of a 2004 New York Times article sums up well the curious existence of the island of Guam, “Looking for friendly base overseas, Pentagon finds it already has one.” Guam is known as the “Tip of America’s Spear” and has for more than a century played a crucial role in securing US strategic interests in the Asia-Pacific region. Guam is also one of 17 remaining colonies in the world as recognized by the United Nations, in need of decolonization. In media representations and critical discourse around US imperialism, Guam also occupies a curious space, where it is a US military colony that somehow does not represent colonialism or imperialism. This presentation will use the concept of banality to interrogate how this simultaneous fullness of Guam as a site for American military power, and its emptiness as a site for American critique, enable the US to project force largely unchallenged over a significant part of the globe.
Join us Friday, September 21st, 2018 from 12:00-1:00pm at the CNAIS cottage.