Subaltern Studies and Literature

Subaltern Studies: Etymology and Concept

Etymology

• Military Origins: Subaltern as a term for subordinate ranks within a hierarchy.
• Gramscian Influence: Antonio Gramsci’s use of ‘subaltern’ to analyze power relations and social hegemony.
• Subaltern Studies Expansion: Expanding the concept beyond economic class to include marginalized groups based on race, caste, gender, and ethnicity.

Purpose

• Challenging Dominant Narratives: Questioning historical perspectives that overlook subaltern experiences.
• Foregrounding Subaltern Voices: Emphasizing the experiences and agency of marginalized groups.
• Nuanced Understanding of History: Promoting complex understandings of history, power, and resistance within colonial and postcolonial settings.
• Interdisciplinary Approach: Employing diverse disciplinary lenses for a richer exploration of subaltern experiences and struggles.

Subaltern Studies: Definition of a Theoretical Term

Subaltern Studies is a theoretical term that originated within the context of postcolonial studies, particularly in South Asia, to describe individuals or groups who occupy marginalized or subordinate positions within society. The term draws from Antonio Gramsci’s concept of the “subaltern” as those who are excluded from mainstream discourse and lack agency within hegemonic power structures. In Subaltern Studies, scholars focus on recovering the histories, voices, and agency of these marginalized groups, challenging dominant historical narratives and seeking to understand the complexities of resistance against oppressive systems.

Subaltern Studies: Theorists, Works and Arguments

Subaltern Studies: Theorists, Works, and Arguments

Subaltern Studies emerged in the 1980s as a critical academic movement focused on South Asia, but with a reach extending to postcolonial studies globally. Here’s a breakdown of some key theorists, their influential works, and the arguments they put forward:

1. Ranajit Guha:

• Theoretician and Activist: A founding member of the Subaltern Studies collective, Guha is considered a central figure in the movement.
• Work: “Elementary Aspects of Peasant Insurgency in Colonial India” (1983)
• Argument: Challenges the notion of peasants as passive victims of colonial rule. Guha argues for the agency of peasants in their resistance through rebellions and everyday acts of defiance.

2. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak:

• Postcolonial Feminist Scholar: Spivak brought a feminist and post-structuralist lens to Subaltern Studies.
• Work: “Can the Subaltern Speak?” (1988) – a seminal essay
• Argument: Questions the possibility of truly representing the subaltern experience due to power imbalances between the researcher and the researched. Spivak emphasizes the need for ethical considerations when attempting to “speak for” the subaltern.

3. Dipesh Chakrabarty:

• Historian and Theorist: Chakrabarty’s work explores subaltern histories and the complexities of modernity within colonial and postcolonial contexts.
• Work: “Provincializing Europe: Postcolonial Thought and Historical Difference” (2000)
• Argument: Challenges the idea of European modernity as a universal model. Chakrabarty argues for the need to understand modernity as experienced and contested by subaltern groups in non-Western contexts.

4. Partha Chatterjee:

• Political Theorist: Chatterjee’s work focuses on the concept of the “political public sphere” and its accessibility to subaltern groups.
• Work: “Nationalism and the Colonial Subject: A Theory of ‘History in the Present’” (1986)
• Argument: Analyzes how the rise of nationalism in colonial India created a “bourgeois public sphere” that often excluded the concerns of the subaltern majority.

These are just a few key figures within Subaltern Studies. Each scholar has contributed rich and complex arguments that continue to influence postcolonial theory and historical analysis.

Subaltern Studies: Major Characteristics

1. Focus on Marginalized Voices:

• Emphasis: Centers the perspectives, histories, and experiences of subaltern groups excluded from mainstream narratives.
• Literary References:
  • Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things gives voice to communities marginalized by caste and societal norms in India.
  • Mahasweta Devi’s stories, like “Draupadi,” vividly portray the experiences of tribal women facing state oppression and violence.

2. Critique of Dominant Narratives:

• Emphasis: Challenges elitist or colonial interpretations of history and power structures.
• Literary References:
  • Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart counters colonial depictions of African societies, emphasizing complexity and sophistication.
  • Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children offers a postcolonial view of India’s partition, subverting official narratives of the event.

3. Subaltern Agency and Resistance:

• Emphasis: Recognizes the agency and resistance of subaltern groups, even within oppressive systems. This resistance might manifest subtly or overtly.
• Literary References:
  • Toni Morrison’s Beloved portrays resilience and forms of resistance among enslaved people.
  • Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s works emphasize the role of language and cultural expression as resistance to colonial dominance.

4. Interdisciplinarity:

• Emphasis: Employs insights from history, anthropology, literature, and cultural studies to offer a multifaceted reading of subaltern experiences.
• Literary References:
  • Amitav Ghosh’s work, like The Ibis Trilogy, weaves historical research, folklore, and personal narratives, demonstrating the interdisciplinary approach.

Note: It’s important to remember that while literature can illustrate concepts from Subaltern Studies, a critical lens is needed to analyze how literary texts engage with (or complicate) power structures, representation, and agency.

Subaltern Studies: Relevance in Literary Theories

Literary Theory	Relevance of Subaltern Studies	Key Points of Intersection
Postcolonial Literature	Essential framework for analyzing works from formerly colonized nations or exploring themes of colonialism and its legacy.	* Challenges Eurocentric readings * Focuses on marginalized voices within colonized and postcolonial societies * Examines how literature can both resist and perpetuate power structures
Feminist Criticism	Highlights the intersectionality of gender and other forms of oppression examined within Subaltern Studies.	* Uncovers how subaltern women experience multiple levels of marginalization * Explores how women utilize agency and resistance within patriarchal power structures * Analyzes how literary representations of women can contribute to or challenge dominant discourses
Marxist Criticism	Offers a complementary lens, but Subaltern Studies expands the focus beyond solely economic class.	* Examines the intersection of economic oppression with other subaltern identities (race, caste, etc.) * Explores how literature reflects and contributes to power dynamics within class structures
Cultural Studies	Focuses on how culture is both a site of oppression and resistance for subaltern groups.	* Analyzes how literature and other cultural texts contribute to the creation and maintenance of dominant ideologies * Explores how subaltern groups use culture to assert their identities and challenge power structures

Additional Notes:

• Subaltern Studies also has relevance for other literary theories like Critical Race Theory, Post-structuralism, and Reader-Response criticism.
• The intersections between Subaltern Studies and literary theory are complex and dynamic, leading to rich and nuanced analyses of power, representation, and resistance within literary texts.

Subaltern Studies: Application in Critiques

1. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart (Nigeria):

• Subaltern Voices: Focus on characters like women, outcasts (osu), and those marginalized within Igbo society despite its internal hierarchies. Analyze how power operates within pre-colonial structures.
• Dominant Narratives: Critique how the novel counters historical accounts of Africa as primitive, emphasizing the complexity of pre-colonial social and political systems before their disruption by colonialism.
• Agency and Resistance: Explore subtle forms of resistance by female characters against gender norms, or the ways Okonkwo embodies resistance to colonial power, even if his actions are also bound by patriarchal values.

2. Mahasweta Devi’s “Draupadi” (India):

• Intersectionality: Emphasize how Dopdi experiences interlocking oppressions as both a tribal woman and a member of a lower caste, subject to state violence.
• Challenging Power Structures: Examine how the story confronts hierarchies of class, caste, gender, and the brutality of state power against marginalized groups.
• Subaltern Agency: Focus on Dopdi’s defiance in the face of oppression as a powerful act of resistance, even when faced with overwhelming power imbalances.

3. Toni Morrison’s Beloved (USA):

• Subaltern Histories: Excavate the silenced stories of enslaved people and the ongoing trauma of slavery.
• Trauma and Memory: Explore how the novel confronts repressed histories and how Beloved embodies the return of suppressed memories of violence and oppression.
• Resistance and Resilience: Analyze the multifaceted ways characters resist dehumanization, reclaim identity, and find ways to survive and rebuild within the aftermath of slavery.

4. J.M. Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians (South Africa):

• Ambiguities of Power: Examine how the Magistrate represents a complicit, even if conflicted, figure within a colonial system, highlighting the complexities of subalternity.
• Critique of Colonial Discourse: Analyze how language used to describe the “barbarians” reveals the biases and dehumanizing strategies of colonial narratives.
• Ethics and Representation: Consider the challenges of ethically representing the subaltern perspective, as the narrative remains centered on the Magistrate’s inner turmoil.

Important Note: Subaltern Studies is just one critical lens. It can be used alongside other theories (postcolonial, feminist, etc.) for an even more well-rounded literary analysis.

Subaltern Studies: Relevant Terms

Term	Definition
Subaltern	Groups or individuals marginalized due to their social, political, or economic position within a power hierarchy. This can encompass factors like class, caste, race, gender, ethnicity, and more.
Hegemony	The social, cultural, and ideological dominance of a ruling group, often maintained through consent rather than overt coercion.
Agency	The capacity of individuals or groups to act independently, exert power, and make choices, even within systems of oppression.
Resistance	Acts of defiance against dominant power structures, ranging from overt rebellions to subtle forms of everyday resistance.
Dominant Narratives	Historical accounts or cultural representations that reflect and reinforce the perspectives of those in power, often silencing subaltern voices.
Counter-histories	Historical interpretations that challenge dominant narratives by highlighting the experiences and perspectives of subaltern groups.
Representation	How subaltern groups are depicted in literature, media, historical accounts, etc. This raises questions of authenticity, stereotypes, and the power to control representation.
Intersectionality	The recognition that multiple forms of oppression (e.g., race, gender, class) can intersect and create unique experiences of marginalization.
Postcoloniality	The historical period following colonialism, focusing on the ongoing effects and legacies of colonial power structures.
Essentialism	The tendency to reduce complex identities and experiences to simplified or fixed categories, risking the erasure of internal differences within subaltern groups.

Subaltern Studies: Suggested Readings

Introductory Texts

• Nayar, Pramod K. Postcolonialism: A Guide for the Perplexed. Bloomsbury, 2010.
• Young, Robert J. C. Postcolonialism: An Historical Introduction. Wiley-Blackwell, 2001.

Foundational Works in Subaltern Studies

• Guha, Ranajit, ed. Subaltern Studies: Writings on South Asian History and Society. Volumes. 1-12 Oxford University Press, 1982-2005.
• Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. “Can the Subaltern Speak?” Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture, edited by Cary Nelson and Lawrence Grossberg, University of Illinois Press, 1988, pp. 271-313.

Applications of Subaltern Studies

• Chakrabarty, Dipesh. Provincializing Europe: Postcolonial Thought and Historical Difference. Princeton University Press, 2000.
• Chatterjee, Partha. The Nation and Its Fragments: Colonial and Postcolonial Histories. Princeton University Press, 1993.
• Prakash, Gyan. “Subaltern Studies as Postcolonial Criticism.” The American Historical Review, vol. 99, no. 5, 1994, pp. 1475-1490.

Websites

• The Subaltern Studies Collective: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/subaltern-studies-9780195651256?sortField=4&resultsPerPage=100&view=Standard&lang=en&cc=gb – Website dedicated to the history and legacy of the collective.