Abstract

BANERJEE, lshita. Mundos convergentes: Género, subalternidad, poscolonialismo. La ventana [online]. 2014, vol.5, n.39, pp.07-38. ISSN 1405-9436.

This article engages and extends the implications of Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak's essay, 'Can the Subaltern Speak' and her book, A Critique of Postcolonid Reason. It does this through an analysis of the distinct perceptions and appropriations of La Malinche. I draw on Spivak's important critique of the ways postcolonial theory hides the role of the knowing subject, in order to underscore instead the possibilities of 'speaking with' (rather than 'speaking for') the subaltern. On the one hand, the essay examines the contributions of Subaltern Studies, postcolonial perspectives, and feminist theory in recovering and establishing the 'subaltern' as a subject of history, while bringing such efforts in a critical conversation with Spivak's arguments. On the other hand, it draws upon Spivak's insights in a reading of La Malinche, including the various ways in which this Mexican icon has been read, understood, and appropriated by historians, poets, and feminist writers in Mexico. All of this allows for a reconsideration of the subaltern as 'speaking' subject.

Keywords : Gender; Subalterns; Postcolonial Theory; La Malinche.

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