1st Edition

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak

By Stephen Morton Copyright 2003
    190 Pages
    by Routledge

    192 Pages
    by Routledge

    Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak offers an overtly political challenge to the way we think about literature and culture. As she highlights the many legacies of colonialism, she re-defines the ethical horizons of contemporary critical thought. This volume focuses on her key theoretical concepts, intellectual context and critical reception, providing an accessible introduction to one of the most important thinkers of our time.
    Stephen Morton introduces Spivak's crucial work through an analysis of such issues as:
    * methodology and Spivak's 'difficult' style
    * deconstructive strategies
    * third world women, the concept of the 'subaltern' and the critique of western feminism
    * re-reading Marx for the global capitalist era
    * Spivak's contribution to colonial discourse studies and postcolonial theory.
    Having examined the ways in which Spivak has transformed contemporary cultural theory, and in particular feminist and postcolonial thought, Morton concludes with a guide to reading Spivak's work and that of her critics. Essential for students of literature or cultural studies, this volume is the ideal companion for a first encounter with Spivak's remarkable texts.

    Series Editor's Preface Why Spivak? Key Ideas 1. Theory, Politics and the Question of Style 2. Setting Deconstruction to Work 3. Learning from the Subaltern 4. Third World Women and Western Feminist Thought 5. Materialism and Value 6. Colonialism, Postcolonialism and the Literary Text After Spivak Further Reading

    Biography

    Stephen Morton is Lecturer in English at Tampere University, Finland.

    'This is a provocative book of fundamental significance.' - Transaction

    'Marcuse shows himself to be one of the most radical and forceful thinkers of his time.' - The Nation