Theory in an Uneven World

This major intervention into debates about the postcolonial and the global proposes that theory should embody unevenness as symptom even as it envisions strategies to get beyond unevenness. Radhakrishnan's thought-provoking engagement with theorists and writers from around the world will fascinate readers across a wide range of disciplines. A major intervention into debates about the postcolonial and the global. Proposes that theory bear the burden of unevenness even as it seeks a way out of it - neither captive to the world as it is, nor naively credulous of visions of the world as it should be, theory argues for an ethics of persuasion that is firmly rooted in political resistance. Engages with a wide range of theorists and writers from around the world. Ranges over fields as diverse as critical theory, postmodernism, poststructuralism, postcolonialism, minority studies, cultural studies and anthropology.

Preface. Acknowledgements. 1. Postmodernism and the Rest of the World. 2. The Use and Abuse of Multiculturalism. 3. Globalization, Desire, and the Politics of Representation. 4. Derivative Discourses and the Problem of Signification. 5. Theory in an Uneven World. Notes. Index