"Whereof one cannot speak.": Deceptive voices and agentive silences in the articulation of identities of the Moluccan postcolonial migrant community in the Netherlands

In theoretical and activist discourses concerning power and identity, “voice” is often used as a metaphor for empowerment (“we must raise our voices”), whereas silence is often used as voice’s negative counterpart, signifying a loss or lack of power (“we will no longer be silenced”). This dissertation starts from the consideration that not all voices are empowering, and not all silence signals powerlessness. There are voices that do not liberate us from but rather subject us to power: anything you say can be used against you. Silence, meanwhile, sometimes speaks louder than words. Silence can... Mehr ...