Attached Paper Annual Meeting 2024

The Indebted Body as an Economic Aggression: The Religious Violence of Economic Debt in Current Racial Capitalism.

Papers Session: Unacknowledged Subjects
Abstract for Online Program Book (maximum 150 words)

This paper examines the impact of economic debt within racial capitalism, using the murder of Alexa Negrón Luciano in Puerto Rico as a case study to explore the intersections of identity, religion, and economic violence. It argues that debt functions as a form of economic violence, particularly against marginalized communities, employing theoretical insights from Michel Foucault and Paul B. Preciado. The study highlights debt as a Foucauldian technology of body production intertwined with colonialism and heteronormative structures, transforming individuals into “indebted subjects” and “debtbodies” within a racial capitalist system. This analysis seeks to expose the violent and religious dimensions of economic debt, challenging traditional views and fostering a critical reevaluation of its societal impacts and ethical implications in the interplay between economy, race, religion, and identity.