The purpose of this blog is to further develop my own understanding of subaltern studies, a system of analysis which Ileana Rodriguez defines as the “radical critique of elite cultures, of liberal, bourgeois, and modern epistemologies and projects, and of their different propositions regarding representation of the subaltern.” Edward Said, whose seminal work, Orientalism, served as an important catalyst for the development of postcolonial theory, described subaltern studies as ‘intellectually insurrectionary’.
Brought to prominence by Antonio Gramsci, and expanded by the work of, among others, Fanon, Said and Spivak, the term ‘subaltern’ describes those whose marginality limits their ability to tackle the hegemony of dominant groups. In the postcolonial era, social, political and economic policies create a myriad of contingencies for subaltern groups. Unfortunately, intricate social problems are most often analyzed top down, rather than from the perspective of those who are most profoundly impacted. While not commonly understood to fall under the rubric of subalternity, I am also very much interested in the nascent field of political ecology which in the words of Peet and Watts ‘seeks to understand the complex relations between Nature and Society though careful analysis of social forms and access and control over resources.’
My interests include, inter alia, Latin America, specifically Bolivia and Brazil, contemporary Islamic issues, indigenous movements, food policy, development economics, poststructuralism, the institutionalization of organized authority, infectious diseases, money laundering, human trafficking and the study of natural resources as they relate to and cause stratification between and within countries.
Most importantly, I am interested in the dominant discourse that surrounds these issues, more specifically, the breathtaking insouciance with which misinformation is contrived and disseminated about often defenseless and poverty stricken people who experience subalternity.
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