Date: Fri, 26 Jul 1996 13:36:57 -0400 (EDT) From: Satish K Kolluri <kolluri-AT-comm.umass.edu> Subject: Re: Definition of subalterns azfar thanks for sharing my skepticism about the multiple meanings of the "subaltern." yes, i would say that the subaltern is over-determined in the last instance by CLASS, even as CLASS and CULTURE are overdetermined by each other. the figure of the subaltern resonates very differently in other parts of the world due to the presence of viable leftist political cultures. to put it in a different way, the home minister of india, indrajit gupta, belongs to the communist party of india. the question is, is that even a remote possibility in this country? i do not want to belabour the point. to use your phrase, the subaltern becomes a high voltage metaphor and in the process is hijacked in different directions by different strains of thought. as a result of this, the figure of the subaltern circulates endlessly and repetitively in the ivory towers of the west, silenced forever by "texcentrics," if you will. consequently, "voice is no more," "identity is no more," "representation is no more." guess what a dalit activist of the Narmada Bachao Andolan or the naxalite movement in andhra pradesh would say? "yeah right." more later satish --- from list postcolonial-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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