Concept Of Subaltern Research Articles

Unveiling the Subaltern Voices: A Study of the Bull and the She Devil

The tale "The The Bull and She Devil" by Zaibunnisa Hamidullah focuses on the experiences of people who are that are oppressed and marginalized by social structure, echoing the concept of subalternity as conceived in the work of Antonio Gramsci. This study explores how this story exposes voice of the subaltern, describing the difficulties and obstacles that people of lower status. Based on an analysis based on Gramsci's theories, this research explores the experiences of the characters as they struggle to resist the hegemonic power structures. Abstracts also highlight that the tale shows the desire of the marginalized of empowerment and agency even though they are enslaved by the dominant society forces.

Subalternitas Penganut Ahmadiyah dalam Novel Maryam Karya Okky Madasari

<p><em>The issuance of the Indonesian Ulema Council (Indonesia: Majelis Ulama Indonesia or MUI) fatwa declaring Ahmadiyya as a deviant sect and its followers as having departed from Islamic teachings has impacted the stereotypes surrounding the majority community. The novel "Maryam" is a work of fiction based on the experiences of Okky Madasari's best friend as an Ahmadiyya adherents. The novel narrates the discrimination and injustice faced by Ahmadiyya adherents and serves as a form of social criticism by the author towards the subaltern discourse surrounding Ahmadiyya adherents. This research aims to identify the various forms of subalternity experienced by Ahmadiyya adherents in the novel "Maryam". The research specifically examines the different forms of subalternity imposed by the majority group against Ahmadiyya adherents based on the concept of subalternity, which refers to the oppressed who lack access to voice their concerns developed by Spivak. The utilization of critical discourse analysis in this research helps identify and categorize the various forms of subalternity through the predetermined data corpus. The compiled data corpus is the primary source for the researcher to describe, interpret, and analyze the text, context, and discourse in the novel "Maryam". The data corpus will be analyzed through three stages: 1. Description, 2. Interpretation, and 3. Explanation. The research results indicate that the forms of subalternity depicted by the author in the novel "Maryam" include marginalization and silencing. </em></p>

Marriage and Women's Subalternity in the Ecranisation of Layla Majnun’s Story

PurposeThis article aimed to explain the textual changes in adapting Layla Majnun's story to the film Layla Majnun (2021). In addition, this article questioned the textual ideology of both works con-cerning marriage and women's subalternity.MethodThis article was qualitative research using the literature method. The corpus of this article were the novel Layla Majnun by Nizami Ganjavi and the film Layla Majnun (2021) by Monty Tiwa. This article used Linda Hutcheon's adaptation theory, the concept of subaltern initiated by Ga-yatri C. Spivak, and feminist concepts related to marriage.Results/FindingsThe results of this article show significant changes in the form of the adaptation of the story of Layla Majnun to the film. The changes are in the form of narrative structure, the meaning of mar-riage, and women's voices. The story of Layla Majnun focuses more on the storytelling of male characters, while the film focuses more on the storytelling of female characters.ConclusionThe textual shift from novel to film influences changes in the ideology of the text concerning mar-riage and women's subalternity. In the Layla Majnun novel, women are unable to speak out (subaltern) against repression from men concerning marriage. At the same time, the film Layla Majnun attempts to bring out women's voices to articulate their will in marriage.

Women’s Shared Traumas in Khalid Khalid Hosseini’s Selected Novels: A Thousand Splendid Suns, the Mountains Echoed, and The Kite Runner

This study looks at some of the novels by Khalid Hosseini, an American writer of Afghan descent. Khalid Hosseini's novels chiefly, “A Thousand Splendid Suns, And The Mountains Echoed, and The Kite Runner” were a huge success, becoming international best-sellers. What distinguishes these novels is that their main ideas address some of the challenges and difficulties that Afghan women face in a patriarchal society. Women face severe dilemmas and trials as a result of exclusion, inequality, violence, discrimination, and a negative perception of women. The study will also look at Spivak's concept of subalternity and how it has come to be associated with women in societies where there is no true equality among its members. Furthermore, the study demonstrates that in societies experiencing violent and persistent internal conflicts and challenges, women are always the main victims and the biggest losers.

Translation for the subaltern

ABSTRACT This paper begins by posing the following questions: Who are the subaltern in the global present? What refigurations has the concept of subalternity undergone since its inaugural use in Antonio Gramsci’s writing? What does a genealogical account of such revisions and discontinuities suggest? Can the subaltern speak or be heard in a digital world? Why translate for the subaltern? If translation is an impossible necessity, what risks and pitfalls are encountered in translation for the subaltern? What potential does a politically empowering ethics of translation offer for surmounting such obstacles? Using these questions as a point of departure, this paper proceeds to explore how in the age of digital media communications the previously colonized or subalternized are further hegemonized, and what mechanisms are involved when digital imperialism is further marginalizing and silencing the subaltern. If the history of colonialism has witnessed translation being manipulated as a vehicle to achieve and maintain domination and control, the paper argues, then translation can also serve as a powerful site or tool for repairing social injustice and epistemic or representational violence against the subaltern, and therefore help enable the subaltern to speak for themselves and be heard sympathetically and respectfully.

Echoes of Marginalized Voices in Ranendera’s Lords of The Global Village

The present study explores the selected text Lords of the Global Village from the perspective of subaltern studies. The text from the perspective of subaltern literary theory focuses on the ‘Asur’ Tribe’s lifestyle, their marginalization by the mainstream, their issues and their conflicts with the dominant structures. The paper, from the vantage point of subaltern studies, aims to explore the underpinnings of this novel. By taking into account the concepts of Subalternity, Hegemony, Resistance, Assimilation, Subversion of establishment, through a subaltern reading of Lords of the Global Village would be analysed. The study explores, treatment given to characters of different groups and ideological implication of this treatment. Gramsci’s concept of hegemony and Ranjit Guha’s ideas of Subalternity have been used for analysing and interpreting the selected work.

Subalternity and Linguistic Dispossession: On the Planning of the Galician-Portuguese in the Autonomous Galicia

We start from the centrality attributed in the analysis to the concept of subalternity (Gramsci), and we review the bibliography and the different positions related to the planning of the corpus, the status, and the acquisition of Galician in the autonomous period (1981-2021). After identifying the normative and ideological elements on which subalternity rests in each of these three areas of linguistic planning, we summarize the positions and programmatic proposals of the main groups that participate in the political-linguistic debate in autonomous Galicia. We review the legal-political framework enshrining the «subordinate co-officiality» (Carvalho Calero) and regulating the presence of Galician in compulsory education from the end of the Franco regime until decree 79/2010 currently in force. We synthesize the process of coding Galician in contemporary times in relation to the groups involved, the alleged coding criteria and the results regarding the relationship between Galician, Portuguese and Spanish. We confirm that the socialisation of linguistic and ideological materials subordinated to Spanish (also not referenced in the other Galician-Portuguese norms) means a break with the idea of a central language in the tradition of pre-autonomous Galicianism and minimises the impact of the linguistic interference of Spanish in Galician, at the same time that it does not provide sufficient materials to stop it and reverse it. We conclude that the idea of language and the autonomous legal-political framework enshrine subalternity and explain the progress of the linguistic-cultural interference and substitution process that leads to the linguistic dispossession that threatens the Galician community today.
 Received: 30 April 2022Accepted: 20 May 2022

CAN THE SUBALTERN SPEAK? AN ANALYSIS OF HOME FIRE (2017) BY KAMILA SHAMSI

The current study “Can the subaltern speak? An Analysis of Home Fire (2017) by Kamila Shamsi” is based on the textual analysis and close reading of the novel. The novel is evaluated from the perspective of subaltern by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. Spivak gave the concept of subaltern in her essay “Can the Subaltern speak”? (1988) to discuss the marginalized and subordinated group of people. Spivak says subalterns are neglected at different levels such as social, cultural, political, economic, psychological and religious. Subalterns are entitled with different labels like inferior, downtrodden and lower rank people. Thus, due to fallen position subalterns remain forgotten subjects and have no history and no identity in their surroundings. Similar to Spivak`s concept, Shamsi’s novel Home Fire (2017) portrays the position of Muslim British as subaltern. A Muslim family named Pasha Family has been living in Britain for many years and still lives in Britain. Yet their identity is challenged due to the involvement of Adil Pasha (Father) with Taliban and having Muslim identity. Isma, elder daughter of Adil Pasha is interrogated consecutively for two hours at airport of America. The main reason for her interrogation is her Muslim identity and hijab which she wears every time. After that her brother Pervaiz Pasha is murdered in Turkey and his dead body is sent to Pakistan. Because British government is not ready to bury Pervaiz Pasha in her soil as Pervaiz showed connection with terrorists. Therefore, his dead body is not allowed to be buried in Britain. Though all the children of the Pasha Family were born and raised in Britain. This shows subalterns do not have any place in the society. This brutal and violent treatment of one dominant group effects contrary on subalterns. Subalterns accept their fallen status and bow down in front of higher authorities. Keywords: Subalterns, downtrodden, hijab, Muslim identity, terrorists.

Thinking out stratification: the concept of subalternity

Thinking out stratification: the concept of subalternity

TALKING SUBALTERNS: AN INTERPLAY OF SUBALTERNITY AND MAGICAL REALISM IN SING, UNBURIED, SING

The study proposes that in the novel Sing, Unburied, Sing, Jesmyn Ward employs the device of magical realism to make the subalterns’ narrative distinct from the representation of the black community found in dominant discourse. By tracing the African roots of magical realism and further using this indigenous device to discover the allegedly erased history, the article responds to Spivak’s claim that Subaltern cannot speak because they do not have history. The Article further maintains its claim that subaltern can talk by establishing a supporting framework based on the theoretical opinions of Gramsci and Harish Trivedi. The article finds that the deadlock that Spivak’s otherwise interesting concept of subaltern creates, is resolved by Ward through the use of Magical Realism, and that the suppressed ones can only avoid this charge of Spivak that ability to speak disarm the representative of subaltern of its own subaltern identity, by coining their own means of narration. Keywords: subaltern, African Fiction, slavery, magical realism

Born As Subaltern or To Become Subaltern: An Exploration of Subalternity in Dana Johnson’s Because That’s Just Easier

The possibility to become subaltern in social relationships is an important issue in postcolonial studies. This article aims to investigate the representations of subalternity, and the characters’ reactions for being portrayed as subaltern in Dana Johnson’s story Because That’s Just Easier (2016). Spivak’s concept of subaltern will be consulted. Through the analysis process, I will introduce a process which I call ‘Normalization of Subalternity’ that spotlights the issue of subalternity in human relationships. The results indicate that subalternity is a social-cultural construct, not an overnight phenomenon. Two characters, that is, the man lying on the side walk and the six-year-old girl (Dakota) have both become subaltern because their suffering is the subject of others’ getting-used-to. The results also show that Dakota is expected and accepted to be vulnerable, but she deconstructs this mentality and rejects subalternity. She critiques her parents (and others alike) for getting used to the suffering of humanity.

Rethinking Ecological Subalterns in Tanure Ojaide’s The Activist

This study explores the concept of subaltern and how its meaning has evolved over the years within the broader scope of postcolonial theory. The study shall trace the concept of subaltern from its anthropocentric meaning in Antonio Gramsci’s writings to Ranajit Guha and Gayatri Spivak’s ideological perspectives. We shall also trace its inroad into the ecocritical study in the works of Michael Egan and Sergio Ruiz Cayuela while maintaining its anthropocentric leaning. The study shall further attempt a redefinition of the subaltern concept to accommodate non-humans in the class of the subordinated social group. Bearing in mind the anthropocentric leaning of the concept of the subaltern, which excludes non-human members of the ecology, we shall redefine the term from its previous usage in environmental literary studies and expand it to include non-humans as a subordinated group. The study shall analyse the relationship between humans and non-humans to determine if non-humans are treated as subordinates or worse than subordinated humans. The study shall draw instances from Tanure Ojaide’s The Activist (2006) to justify the classification of non-humans as the ultimate ecological subalterns of the Niger Delta Environment. We shall consider human relationships with non-humans (land, air, water, animals, vegetation, sea lives) to determine their status as subalterns. The crux of the study is basically to expand the scope of the subaltern theory by analysing the environmental despoliation prevalent in the oil-rich Niger Delta environments of Nigeria.

Xenophobia and subaltern theatre in post-colonial African identities

ABSTRACT This study is a rhetorical criticism of the relationship between theatre, the concept of subalternity and xenophobia in post-colonial African identities. It places theatre in the frame of nativism, belonging and migration in Africa. Cases of apartheid and colonial system in South Africa and Zimbabwe, respectively, demonstrate the use of theatre in advancing antagonism against colonialism by using topics of identities and nationhood. This characteristic has manifested in contemporary subaltern theatre in challenging xenophobia, political rhetoric and ethno-politico narratives in post-independent Africa. The study analyses Burn Mukwerekwere Burn (2008), a play by Blessing Hungwe based on the 2008 xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

Tango Dancing with María Lugones

Tango Dancing with María Lugones

“Cool! Bikini and lingerie instead of Burka!” – the discursive representation of Muslim women in Austrian women’s magazines

ABSTRACTWithin “Western” controversies, the headscarf is stylised as a symbol of “oppression” and “backwardness” while “unveiling” is simultaneously associated with “self-determination” and “modernity”. As object of a critical discourse analysis, this dichotomisation was also found in Austrian women’s magazines; “the veiled” Muslim woman was constructed as “traditional” and appeared mostly as an “object” of speech. “The unveiled” woman, however, was more frequently featured directly in interviews, typically thematising “modern”—i.e., “Western” assimilated—lifestyles and ways of dressing. Strikingly however, by drawing on Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s concept of subalternity, we conclude that also the more “visible” or “hearable” discourse position—even if it seems to provide Muslim women with agency at first glance—similarly colludes in a further silencing of Muslim women.

Discovering critical-subaltern voices: an interpretive approach for transforming OD

PurposeThe dialogic nature of new organization development practices brought a dramatic shift in relation to the way OD has had been practiced in the past. However, contemporary literature indicates that OD still has to go a long way if it has to play a central role. The purpose of this paper is to speculate for the concerns being raised about OD practices and propose an interpretive approach to fill in the gaps.Design/methodology/approachThis paper traces OD’s glorious journey, which began with egalitarian values. This section builds on the dynamics of power and politics which was integral to the OD movement and further reviews and critiques the contributions of new OD approaches that has its foundations in postmodernism and social constructionism. In the second part, the paper discusses the critical perspective and introduces the concept of subaltern to fill in the gaps in new OD approaches. Further, the paper finds a ground to integrate and redefine the boundaries of critical and subaltern studies.FindingsThe paper proposes an interpretive approach for designing and carrying out OD interventions and introduces the concept of critical-subaltern OD. This approach recognizes the importance to engage with the dialectics or contradictions present between (and within) OD interventions. Through this interpretive approach, the author positions critical-subaltern voices as an integral part of OD interventions and change management.Practical implicationsThe interpretive approach gives an insight into the unacknowledged and unheard socially constructed realities of change and OD practices for sensemaking. The approach would also be instrumental in enhancing the levels of engagement and productivity in unacknowledged and non-dominant employees.Originality/valueThis paper is a departure from the modern literature of critical management studies and builds on the critical theory on OD. The paper proposes by roping in the benefits of subaltern studies into OD practices. The paper builds ways to include voices of those, who never gain a voice. In brief, toward the end of the paper, the author proposes an interpretive approach and moves toward critical-subaltern OD. Through this interpretive approach, the author positions critical-subaltern voices as an integral part of OD interventions and change management.

Kadınların Madun Sorunsalı ve Bir Alternatif Olarak Yeni Medyada Dijital Aktivizm: Change.org

From a historical perspective, the concept of “subaltern” was first introduced by Antonio Gramsci in 1930 in relation to hegemony. However, the present day definition of subaltern includes people who are termed “oppressed” or “the other,” and their voices are unheard in society. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s term, “the other” is another name that makes this issue controversial. Gramsci and Spivak’s views on this subject are not only associated with each person but also separated at certain points. According to Spivak, the main problem is that subalterns can-not speak; in other words, their voices cannot be heard. In this context, when we use the concept of subaltern, the biggest issue we are facing is the problems faced by women, which in turn arise from the hegemonic inequality caused by gender. A woman can be identified as a subaltern because of social gender axis and counter-hegemony. New communication technologies have broadened the counter-hegemony areas of subalterns, while also ensuring the digital activism movements. For instance, with the widespread use of new communication technologies, almost everyone is able to use these technologies, and those who can-not physically have a power of opposition to the dominant ideology can create new formations through these channels. This article focuses on the campaigns related to women, which reflect the counter-hegemony efforts of subalterns and the effectiveness of such efforts in terms of digital activism that appears in www.change.org. In this study, women’s campaigns, launched in Turkey between January 1, 2016 and May 1, 2017 on change.org, were examined through content analysis and their results were evaluated. 

Again on the revolutionary subject: problematising class and subalternity in Gramsci on Tahrir

SUMMARYRoberto Roccu’s intervention provides a detailed reading of the concepts of subalternity, common sense and passive revolution as employed in Gramsci on Tahrir. Roccu calls for a more sustained and careful reading of how ‘subaltern agency’ is invoked and performed in revolutionary upheavals.

On the Structure of Subalternity and the Process of Subalternisation in India

The concept of subalternity, originally formulated by the Italian Marxist, Antonio Gramsci, was amplified by a few Indian historians by juxtaposing the elitist nationalist historiography with subaltern historiography providing a bottom-up perspective. 1 This paper attempts to identify the structure of subaltern deprivations with special reference to India. The main sources of subalternisation in India are as follows: treating some groups/communities as outsiders to the polity (externalisation); assigning groups to the lowest rung of the social ladder (hierarchisation); denial of identity to some groups through a process of absorption (expansionism of the hegemonic group) and lastly, application of traditional norms of society to keep women in subordination (patriarchy). The groups/communities subjected to the process of subalternisation in contemporary India are dalits, adivasis, religious and linguistic minorities and women. Admittedly, the phenomenon of intersectionality creates a hierarchy among subaltern groups—some are cumulatively oppressed, based on several factors, while the oppression of others is anchored in one or two factors only.

Investigating the Female Subaltern, Colonial Discourse and False Consciousness: A Spivakian Marxist-Postcolonialist Reading of Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and No Longer at Ease

The present research study attempts to investigate Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and No Longer at Ease in terms of Gayatri Spivak Marxist-Post colonialist conceptions of subaltern, colonial discourse and false consciousness. In Post-modernist fiction, there is anxiety that historical concerns such as the scale of violence in the Second World War, the Nazi genocide, the paranoiac politics of the Cold War and European colonialism have made fiction a medium for history. Chinua Achebe’s novels, indeed, are manifestation of colonialism and its subsequent impact on the literary text and dominant discourse. In exploring these terms, this dissertation endeavors to closely examine Gayatri Spivak’s concept of subaltern in the Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and No Longer at Ease . Furthermore, the present paper demonstrates Spivak’s voice to differences: that is, class categorization and marginalized subaltern subjects. By the emergence of colonialism, the significance of social class and social discourse became predominant; therefore, colonial discourses instilled into the social, cultural construction and literary text, particularly novel. In this regard, the investigation of the dominate discourses is pursued, and this helps to show how colonialism resulted in discourse inculcation. The resistant perspective against ruling ideology, as the Italian Marxist political activist, Antonio Gramsci calls it cultural hegemony is presented through language, tradition, and customs. Finally, the study focuses on Marxist concept of false consciousness from the viewpoint of Antonio Gramsci to Louis Althusser. Keywords: Colonial discourse, Subaltern, False Consciousness, Social Class, Change and Tradition, Language, Culture