An Aesthetic Education in the Era of Globalization

Duringthepasttwentyyears,theworld'smostrenownedcriticaltheorist--thescholarwhodefinedthefieldofpostcolonialstudies--hasexperiencedaradicalreorientationinherthinking.Findingtheneatpolaritiesoftraditionandmodernity,colonialandpostcolonial,nolongersufficientforinterpretingtheglobalizedpresent,sheturnselsewheretomakehercentralargument:thataestheticeducationisthelastavailableinstrumentforimplementingglobaljusticeanddemocracy.Spivak'sunwillingnesstosacrificetheethicalinthenameoftheaesthetic,ortosacrificetheaestheticingrapplingwiththepolitical,makeshertaskformidable.Asshewrestleswiththesefraughtrelationships,sherewritesFriedrichSchiller'sconceptofplayasdoublebind,readingGregoryBatesonwithGramsciasshenegotiatesImmanuelKant,whileindialoguewithherteacherPauldeMan.AmongtheconcernsSpivakaddressesisthis:Arewereadytoforfeitthewealthoftheworld'slanguagesinthenameofglobalcommunication?"Evenagoodglobalization(thefaileddreamofsocialism)requirestheuniformitywhichthediversityofmother-tonguesmustchallenge,"Spivakwrites."ThetowerofBabelisourrefuge."Inessaysontheory,translation,Marxism,gender,andworldliterature,andonwriterssuchasAssiaDjebar,J.M.Coetzee,andRabindranathTagore,Spivakarguesforthesocialurgencyofthehumanitiesandrenewsthecaseforliterarystudies,imprisonedinthecorporateuniversity."Perhaps,"shewrites,"theliterarycanstilldosomething."Thiscaptivatingcollectionoflecturesdeliveredoverthecourseofaquartercenturyasksustoattendtotheprofoundlydemocraticpossibilitiesoftheimagination.AestheticeducationempowersustoapprehendandnegotiatewhatSpivakcallsthe"doublebindattheheartofdemocracy."Atatimewhenthehumanitiesareexpectedtogenuflectbeforethesciencesandprivatizationandprofessionalizationdisplaceknowledge,Spivakurgesusnotonlytostandtallbuttoinsistthatethicalsolidaritiesareonlypossiblethroughtherigoroustrainingoftheimagination.--AngelaY.Davis,UniversityofCalifornia,SantaCruzSpivakremainsanindispensableleaderandguideintheexhilaratingconceptualadventure--thetrip--which,sincethelatesixties,we'vecalledtheory.AestheticEducationpresentsuswithlessonsthatshehaslearntontheway--difficult,defiant,soberlessonsfortheseunpromisingtimes.Theydemandourattention.--SimonDuring,UniversityofQueensland[A]rewardingseriesofmeditationsonthepossibilityofreading,learning,andteachingthatwouldencouragethefullfloweringofcultural,sexual,andlinguisticdiversityandresistthehomogenizingforceofglobalization...Thegatheredtextsareatestamenttoafundamentalfaithinthepowerofliteraturethatisneverlessthaninspiring.--(11/11/2011)GayatriChakravortySpivak'slatestcollectionofessaysoffersatimelyreminderofwhattherealandpowerfulendsofeducationmightbe...[Theessays]coverthebreadthofanextraordinaryintellectualcareer...Theessays,foralltheirdiversity,havethequalityofacumulative,longretrospection,aslow-burningconsiderationofwhatitmeanstoteach,howfaultilywedoitandhowwemightdobetterbythosewhomostwanttolearnandhaveleastopportunity...Itis,though,Spivak'sassertion,afterSchiller,thatanaestheticeducationremainsthestrongestresourceavailableforthecauseofglobaljusticeanddemocracy.Thehomogenizingandpacifyingeffectsofglobalization,whichSpivaksoroutinelylambasts,here,sheargues,canneverextend"tothesensoryequipmentoftheexperiencingbeing."Andhereshehasneversoundedmorepersuasive,identifyinginartseducationtheevocationofaphenomenologyatfeelingandtheengenderingofcriticalthinkingthatarepositedbeyondthelogicofcapital.--(04/06/2012)