The Spivak Reader

by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Donna Landry (Editor), Gerald MacLean (Editor)

Among the foremost feminist critics to have emerged to international eminence over the last fifteen years, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak has relentlessly challenged the high ground of established theoretical discourse in literary and cultural studies. Although her rigorous reading of various authors has often rendered her work difficult terrain for those unfamiliar with poststructuralism, this collection makes significant strides in explicating Spivak's complicated theories of reading.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Feminism, Theory, Politics, Cultural Studies, Literary Criticism

344 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak is University Professor at Columbia University. She is known for her English translation of Jacques Derrida's seminal work Of Grammatology, and her own philosophical writings on the postcolonial condition that introduced the term "subaltern" into the philosophical lexicon.

Reviews

[Prof John Hutnyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection and the comments before the essays are useful. Plus the interview on Subaltern Talk done about the same time as Gayatri was rewriting the Bhubhaneswari essay for *Critique of Postcolonial Reason* is a great help in cutting through the BS other people have dumped on that essay, demanding it be, and then treating it as if, it were all things to all people. Anyone needing a guide to scholarship as an ethical and intelligent practice, with commitment and no rush to judgement, a learning practice and moral, patient, Marxist-feminist anti-colonial, brilliant guide, you could do worse than start here.

[Boris Bischoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply brilliant. Sometimes hard to get through as it can get complicated, but that is just part of the best works. Would strongly suggest

[Melissa Engberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spivak is certainly gutsy. I'm primarily interested in what she has to say about the subaltern, and how she uses Gramsci's concept. Sometimes I think that she gets bogged down in her attempts at specificity. As for whether or not the subaltern can speak, well...she's the one publishing books, I suppose.

[Suyin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strategic essentialism is pretty brilliant.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's safe to say I don't understand 85% of what she is saying. But what I did understand (thanks to Dr. Zimra) was brilliant.

[BookChampions · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the most befuddling, obfuscating but simultaneously life-changing theory I've ever read.