Revisiting Spivak’s “Can the Subaltern Speak” through the lens of affect theory

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to revisit Spivak’s seminal essay “Can the Subaltern Speak” and the perennial challenges of researchers to collect information about the Other, focusing on the recent developments in affect theory. Design/methodology/approach The paper brings into the conversation the recent work on affect and sentimentality by Lauren Berlant with Spivak’s claims in the essay concerning the representation of the subaltern by scholars and researchers. The paper draws on Berlant’s work to trouble the liberal culture of “true feeling” as well as the liberal subject implied in Spivak’s essay as a subject who is “actively speaking.” Findings Recent theoretical developments on the affect theory make an important intervention to the perennial methodological tensions about representation, ontology and epistemology – as raised by Spivak and others over the years – and inspire new ways of thinking with the tools of doing qualitative research. Originality/value Bringing into the conversation, the affect theory and Spivak’s iconic essay have important methodological implications for qualitative research.

Hacia una poética crítica del gesto compasivo. Poemas en la encrucijada entre los estudios subalternos y afectivos

“…En este mismo sentido, la posición del poder del intelectual tiene que ver también con la valoración de los repertorios adecuados para la expresión de ciertas afecciones. Michalinos Zembylas (2018), en una lectura afectiva de «Can the subaltern speak?», se centra en la dificultad de los investigadores de estudiar los subalternos sin sentimentalizar lo que estos «sienten». Esta sentimentalización, ampliamente criticada también por Lauren Berlant (1998), que comparte con Sara Ahmed la voluntad de evitar la romantización de ciertas emociones con fines de emancipación, podría contribuir a la reproducción de las condiciones de opresión o subalternidad.…”

Something is happening: encountering silence in disability research

“…She argues that subaltern nonWestern subjects cannot “speak” under hegemonic Western paradigms because there is no room for them. In conversation with this argument, Zembylas Michalinos (2018) challenges researchers’ roles in knowing and speaking for the Other. Although Spivak does not touch on disability, we found her insights led us to question what imaginaries normalize silence as a lack of data, and how such interpretations impact the social relations of research.…”

Language as a Tool of Empowerment: The Role of Communication Dynamics in Subaltern Voices

“…This term originates from subaltern studies, a field of historical and sociological inquiry that seeks to uncover the voices and experiences of those who have been historically marginalized or silenced (Behera, 2023;Morris, 2010;Borde, 2020;Riach, 2017). In the context of sociolinguistic studies, subaltern voices represent the linguistic expressions and communication patterns of marginalized groups (Spivak, 2023;Zani & Momesso, 2021;Zembylas, 2018). The concept of subaltern voices has gained significant attention in recent years, particularly within the fields of subaltern studies and sociolinguistics.…”