Reviews for A Critique of Postcolonial Reason: Toward a History of the Vanishing Present

The average rating for A Critique of Postcolonial Reason: Toward a History of the Vanishing Present based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-02-11 00:00:00 Gabriel Hernandez When I saw Spivak speak for the first time, she introduced herself as a hyphenated identitarian and I think I fell in love with her just for that. Most people know her for her essay "can the subaltern speak?" and this collection of essays builds on the same themes. She is at once a product of postcolonial studies and third world feminism but so so critical of it, which makes her ideas rigorous beyond belief. If you're not a fan of dense academic language, this is not the book for you. But really, you're missing out. It's so delicious.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-10-03 00:00:00 Lyndon Floyd At times, I thought this book was just plain mean. It was painful to read. I think it makes some good points, but I can't be sure, since I can't understand what Spivak is saying most of the time. We read one chapter a week, and spent three hours discussing the chapter we read for each week, and I still felt completely bewildered through most of the book. I think people who have written since Spivak, and who use her work are probably better to read for most people.