Arresting Deconstruction: On Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak's Cultural Criticism

Abstract

A leading figure of the second wave of deconstructive criticism in America, Gayatri Spivak has developed a critical approach in which post-structuralist hermeneutics is oriented towards a political criticism engaged with the problems of post-colonialism and materialist feminism. This paper examines the methodologically progressive aspects of Spivak's critique in her book IN OTHER WORLDS, and also the unsatisfactory solution given to some of the main problems she deals with. In spite of its undeniable interest, Spivak's theory is often inconsistent in its attempts to conciliate the interests and methods of rhetorical criticism and political/cultural criticism.

Keywords: Criticism, Cultural criticism, Deconstruction, Spivak, Multiculturalism, Postcolonialism