I think that Spivak`s text is a very interesting reading of the work that have been doing by the subaltern group studies. In a very \u201cpolite\u201d tone, is proposing to change the focus of this kind of studies. Turn them from exposing the \u201cIndian\u201d and \u201cobjective\u201d point of view, to use the theoretical tool of the deconstruction. Spivak quote often the text of Guha to show in which way the Indian historian is reproducing the same critic that he makes to British historians. Guha speaks about the self-consciousness of the peasant rebels something that is very related, according to Spivak, with the Marxism. According to Spivak, Guha`s ideas would lead to a \u201cinevitably objectify of the subaltern and be caught in the game of knowledge and power\u201d (207). This means that whilu you try to show \u201cwhat actually happened\u201d from the \u201cIndians point of view\u201d you are sentencing to the subaltern to be a saturated category.<\/p>\n
It is at this point where appear one of the main issues of the \u201csubaltern studies\u201d. What is the relation of the subaltern studies with the subaltern? This is the relation of the observer with the observed. And that, in the end, is one the biggest issues in this kind of theoretical discussions. Because we know that the group of subaltern studies are not the peasants rebels of the XIX century, not just for being \u201cIndians\u201d you became \u201cthe voice\u201d of what was muted by the Empire. And this is very interesting when Spivak talks about the case of women. The concept \u201csubaltern\u201d has, in some way, the same characteristic than the concept of \u201cclass\u201d. Many things can be in. And just a few can be out. So, the notion of \u201csubaltern\u201d it is not actually a very specific category. It is defined by the opposition with the \u201chegemonic\u201d group. Hence, distinctions like gender, race and ethnicity are hard to manage under this big name of \u201cthe subaltern\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I think that Spivak`s text is a very interesting reading of the work that have been doing by the subaltern group studies. In a very \u201cpolite\u201d tone, is proposing to change the focus of this kind of studies. Turn them … Continue reading