Exotic Parodies: Subjectivity in Adorno, Said, and Spivak

Exotic Parodies was first published in 1995. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions. This groundbreaking text begins with the premise that postmodernism, poststructuralism, postcolonialism, and Marxism continue to present certain problems with the self/other distinction. It goes on to offer the first extended critique of the work of Gayatri Spivak; challenge the critical reception of Adorno in the American academy; examine Said's connection to Adorno; and make the first in-depth use of Adorno's Negative Dialectics in the context of postcolonial theory. Varadharajan attempts to reformulate the agenda of postcolonialism and to establish a much-needed basis for the evaluation of specific critical positions and practices occasioned by its discourse. Her daring interpretative moves and highly nuanced readings of complex issues in Marxist and poststructuralist theory will be of interest to those contemplating relations between feminism, postcolonialism, Marxism, and deconstruction.