Revista de Estudios Sociales

rev. estud. soc. | eISSN 1900-5180 | ISSN 0123-885X

In a Word. Interview. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak with Ellen Rooney

No. 88 (2024-04-08)
  • Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
  • Ellen Rooney
  • Soledad Tuñón
    Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina
https://doi.org/10.7440/res88.2024.06

Abstract

In this interview, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak revisits the debate between essentialism and anti-essentialism by reconsidering various theoretical frameworks she has engaged with over her intellectual journey. These frameworks include deconstruction, Marxism, and feminisms, alongside reflections on the role of philosophy. One key focus of her reflection is the concept of strategic essentialism in understanding social movements, diverging from her previous stances. Spivak suggests viewing it as an ongoing critique of essentialist approaches, emphasizing the importance of maintaining critical, strategic, and indispensable elements within a minimalizable essence. She also stresses the significance of authorial positioning and autobiographical narratives, drawing on childhood lessons. She explores teaching as a practice that can convey the impossibility of fixed essences rather than engaging in theoretical debates. She examines her own place within the Subaltern Studies Group and the political connotations of the “Third World.” Towards the end, she delves into the practical perspective on essences concerning empirical realities and the dynamic between researchers and their audiences.

Keywords: deconstruction, feminism, Marxism, postcoloniality, strategic essentialism

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