Social Constructionist Identity Politics and Literary Studies

This study presents a critique of social constructionist identity politics, which is distinguished from specific identity-based political positions, from within and with social constructionist commitments. Gupta examines the institutionalization of social constructionist identity politics in literary studies, considering the notions of canonicity.

'Gupta's book is a timely intervention which wrestles with the legacy of theory and the intellectual fallout of identity politics in the humanities. This is a wide-ranging, intelligent and politically-engaged study that refocuses our attention on exactly what it is we do, and should be doing, when we study literature and culture.' - Dr Mark Turner, King's College, University of London, UK

Autorentext
SUMAN GUPTA is Senior Lecturer in Literature and Joint Director of the Ferguson Centre for African and Asian Studies, The Open University, UK. He is also Principal Co-ordinator of the Globalization, Identity Politics and Social Conflict (GIPSC) project and Honorary Senior Research Fellow at Roehampton University, UK. He has published seven single-authored and five co-edited books.

Inhalt
Introduction: Prelude to Definitive Elaborations PART 1: SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIONIST IDENTITY POLITICS Identity-Based Political Positions Embodying Identity-Based Political Positions Analogues and Equivalences Identity Politics at Work PART 2: LITERARY STUDIES Theory, Institutional Matters, Identity Politics Self-Announcements and Institutional Realignments Theory Textbooks and Canons Conclusion: Questions and Prospects Bibliography Index