Includes bibliographical references (p. [323]-353) and index.

Introduction. "The rot remains": from ruins to ruination / Ann Laura Stoler -- Decompositions of matter and mind -- An acoustic register: t enacious images, congolese scenes of rape, and repetition / Nancy Hunt -- The coolie: an unfinished epic / E. Valentine Daniel -- Empire's rui ns: Detroit to the Amazon / Greg Grandin -- Living in ruins: degradatio ns and regenerations -- Detritus in Durban: polluted environs and the b iopolitics of refusal / Sharad Chari -- Ruins, redemption and Brazil's imperial exception / John Collins -- When a demolished house becomes a public square / Ariella Azoulay -- Anticipating the imperial future -- The void: invisible ruins on the edges of empire / Gastcentn Gordillo - - Engineering the future as nuclear ruin / Joseph Masco -- The future i n ruins / Vyjayanthi Rao.