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"Identity" is one of the most hotly debated topics in literary theory and cultural studies. This bold and groundbreaking collection of ten essays argues that identity is not just socially constructed but has real epistemic and political consequences for how people experience the world. Advocating a "postpositivist realist" approach to identity, the essays examine the ways in which theory, politics, and activism clash with or complement each other, providing an alternative to the widely influential postmodernist understandings of identity. Although theoretical in orientation, this dynamic collection deals with specific social groups—Chicanas/os, African Americans, gay men and lesbians, Asian Americans, and others—and concrete social issues directly related to race, ethnicity, sexuality, epistemology, and political resistance.
Satya Mohanty's brilliant exegesis of Toni Morrison's Beloved serves as a launching pad for the collection. The essays that follow, written by prominent and up-and-coming scholars, address a range of topics—from the writings of Cherrie Moraga, Franz Fanon, Joy Kogawa, and Michael Nava to the controversy surrounding racial program housing on college campuses—and work toward a truly interdisciplinary approach to identity.
Satya Mohanty's brilliant exegesis of Toni Morrison's Beloved serves as a launching pad for the collection. The essays that follow, written by prominent and up-and-coming scholars, address a range of topics—from the writings of Cherrie Moraga, Franz Fanon, Joy Kogawa, and Michael Nava to the controversy surrounding racial program housing on college campuses—and work toward a truly interdisciplinary approach to identity.
Price: $36.95
Pages: 364
Publisher: University of California Press
Imprint: University of California Press
Publication Date:
14 December 2000
Trim Size: 9.00 X 6.00 in
ISBN: 9780520223493
Format: Paperback
BISACs:
Paula M. L. Moya is Assistant Professor of English at Stanford University. Michael R. Hames-Garcia is Assistant Professor of English at SUNY Binghamton.
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Reclaiming Identity
Paula M. L. Maya
THE REALIST THEORY OF IDENTITY AND THE PREDICAMENT OF POSTMODERNISM
1. The Epistemic Status of Cultural Identity: On Beloved and the Postcolonial Condition
Satya P. Mohanty
2. Postmodernism, "Realism," and the Politics of Identity: Cherrie Moraga and Chicana Feminism
Paula M. L. Maya
3· "Who Are Our Own People?": Challenges for a Theory of Social Identity
Michael R. Hames-Garda
POSTPOSITIVIST OBJECTIVITY:USES OF ERROR, VALUES, AND IDENTITY
4· On Representing Others: Intellectuals, Pedagogy,and the Uses of Error
Caroline S. Hau
5. "It Matters to Get the Facts Straight": Joy Kogawa, Realism,and Objectivity of Values
Minh T. Nguyen
6. Racial Authenticity and White Separatism: The Future of Racial Program Housing on College Campuses
Amie A. Macdonald
REALIST CONCEPTIONS OF AGENCY, EXPERIENCE, AND IDENTITY
7· Who Says Who Says?: The Epistemological Grounds for Agency in Liberatory Political Projects
Brent R. Henze
8. Is There Something You Need to Tell Me?: Coming Out and the Ambiguity of Experience
William S. Wilkerson
9· Reading "Experience": The Debate in Intellectual History among Scott, Toews, and LaCapra
John H. Zammito
10. Who's Afraid of Identity Politics?
Linda Martin Alcoff
Contributors
Index
Introduction: Reclaiming Identity
Paula M. L. Maya
THE REALIST THEORY OF IDENTITY AND THE PREDICAMENT OF POSTMODERNISM
1. The Epistemic Status of Cultural Identity: On Beloved and the Postcolonial Condition
Satya P. Mohanty
2. Postmodernism, "Realism," and the Politics of Identity: Cherrie Moraga and Chicana Feminism
Paula M. L. Maya
3· "Who Are Our Own People?": Challenges for a Theory of Social Identity
Michael R. Hames-Garda
POSTPOSITIVIST OBJECTIVITY:USES OF ERROR, VALUES, AND IDENTITY
4· On Representing Others: Intellectuals, Pedagogy,and the Uses of Error
Caroline S. Hau
5. "It Matters to Get the Facts Straight": Joy Kogawa, Realism,and Objectivity of Values
Minh T. Nguyen
6. Racial Authenticity and White Separatism: The Future of Racial Program Housing on College Campuses
Amie A. Macdonald
REALIST CONCEPTIONS OF AGENCY, EXPERIENCE, AND IDENTITY
7· Who Says Who Says?: The Epistemological Grounds for Agency in Liberatory Political Projects
Brent R. Henze
8. Is There Something You Need to Tell Me?: Coming Out and the Ambiguity of Experience
William S. Wilkerson
9· Reading "Experience": The Debate in Intellectual History among Scott, Toews, and LaCapra
John H. Zammito
10. Who's Afraid of Identity Politics?
Linda Martin Alcoff
Contributors
Index