Theory in Context: Gayatri C. Spivak

This seminar explores the intellectual outlook and oeuvre of philosopher, translator and feminist critic Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. Departing from her most widely known essay "Can the subaltern speak?", a key text of postcolonial studies, we will aim for a more qualified understanding of Spivaks crucial works and relevant concepts. Besides considering the relations between theory and practice, Spivaks positions will be discussed in context, which is to say, with a side look at relevant literary and theoretical contacts such as Jacques Derrida, Sigmund Freud, Judith Butler, Luce Irigaray and others. A special focus will be on Spivaks widely discussed concept of planetarity with regard to world literature and environmentalism.