Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
গায়ত্রী চক্রবর্তী স্পিভাক
	Spivak in 2012
Born	24 February 1942 (age 83); Calcutta, Bengal Province,; British India; (now Kolkata, West Bengal, India)
Spouses	; Talbot Spivak (m. 1964⁠–⁠1977) Basudev Chatterji;
Education
Education	University of Calcutta (MA); Cornell University (PhD);
Philosophical work
Era	Contemporary philosophy
Region	Western philosophy
School	Continental philosophy, postcolonialism, deconstruction
Main interests	Literary criticism, feminism, Marxism, postcolonialism
Notable ideas	Strategic essentialism, the Subaltern, the Other

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak FBA (/ˈspɪvæk/;^[1] born 24 February 1942) is an Indian scholar, literary theorist, and feminist critic.^[2] She is a University Professor at Columbia University and a founding member of the establishment's Institute for Comparative Literature and Society.^[3]

Considered as one of the most influential postcolonial intellectuals, Spivak is best known for her essay "Can the Subaltern Speak?" and her translation of and introduction to Jacques Derrida's De la grammatologie.^[4]^[5] She has also translated many works of Mahasweta Devi into English, with separate critical notes on Devi's life and writing style, notably Imaginary Maps and Breast Stories.

Spivak was awarded the 2012 Kyoto Prize in Arts and Philosophy for being "a critical theorist and educator speaking for the humanities against intellectual colonialism in relation to the globalized world."^[6]^[7]^[8] In 2013, she received the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award given by the Republic of India.^[9] In 2025, Spivak received the Holberg Prize for "her groundbreaking work in the fields of literary theory and philosophy", per the selection committee.^[10]

Although associated with postcolonialism, Spivak confirmed her separation from the discipline in her book A Critique of Postcolonial Reason (1999), a position she maintains in a 2021 essay titled "How the Heritage of Postcolonial Studies Thinks Colonialism Today", published by Janus Unbound: Journal of Critical Studies.^[11]

^ "Gayatri Spivak: The Trajectory of the Subaltern in My Work"
^ "Spivak, Gayatri." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2014.
^ "Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak". Department of English and Comparative Literature. Columbia University in the City of New York. Archived from the original on 11 January 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
^ Simons, Jon (10 September 2010). From Agamben to Zizek: Contemporary Critical Theorists: Contemporary Critical Theorists. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9780748643264. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
^ Morton, Stephen (2010). Simons, Jon (ed.). From Agamben To Zizek Contemporary Critical Theorists. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-7486-3973-1. Archived from the original on 7 April 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
^ "The Kyoto Prize / Laureates / Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak". Inamori Foundation. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016. A Critical Theorist and Educator Speaking for the Humanities Against Intellectual Colonialism in Relation to the Globalized World.
^ "Columbia University Professor Gayatri Spivak Selected as 2012 Kyoto Prize Laureate in Arts and Philosophy". Kyoto Symposium Organization. Kyoto Prize USA. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016.
^ "Professor Gayatri Spivak Selected as 2012 Kyoto Prize Laureate in Arts and Philosophy". Columbia News. Columbia University. Archived from the original on 21 June 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016. Known as the 'Nobel of the arts,' the Kyoto Prize is an international award presented annually to individuals who have contributed significantly to the scientific, cultural and spiritual betterment of mankind in categories of advanced technology, basic sciences and arts and philosophy.
^ "Padma Awards Announced". Ministry of Home Affairs (India). 25 January 2013. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
^ "Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak Named 2025 Holberg Prize Laureate". Columbia News. 13 March 2025. Retrieved 16 March 2025.
^ Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty (11 November 2021). "How the Heritage of Postcolonial Studies Thinks Colonialism Today". Janus Unbound: Journal of Critical Studies. 1 (1): 19–29.^{[non-primary source needed]}

[1] "Gayatri Spivak: The Trajectory of the Subaltern in My Work"

[2] "Spivak, Gayatri." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2014.

[CU-3] "Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak". Department of English and Comparative Literature. Columbia University in the City of New York. Archived from the original on 11 January 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2016.

[4] Simons, Jon (10 September 2010). From Agamben to Zizek: Contemporary Critical Theorists: Contemporary Critical Theorists. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9780748643264. Archived from the original on 17 July 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2020.

[5] Morton, Stephen (2010). Simons, Jon (ed.). From Agamben To Zizek Contemporary Critical Theorists. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-7486-3973-1. Archived from the original on 7 April 2022. Retrieved 17 October 2020.

[6] "The Kyoto Prize / Laureates / Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak". Inamori Foundation. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016. A Critical Theorist and Educator Speaking for the Humanities Against Intellectual Colonialism in Relation to the Globalized World.

[7] "Columbia University Professor Gayatri Spivak Selected as 2012 Kyoto Prize Laureate in Arts and Philosophy". Kyoto Symposium Organization. Kyoto Prize USA. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016.

[8] "Professor Gayatri Spivak Selected as 2012 Kyoto Prize Laureate in Arts and Philosophy". Columbia News. Columbia University. Archived from the original on 21 June 2016. Retrieved 19 April 2016. Known as the 'Nobel of the arts,' the Kyoto Prize is an international award presented annually to individuals who have contributed significantly to the scientific, cultural and spiritual betterment of mankind in categories of advanced technology, basic sciences and arts and philosophy.

[pib4-9] "Padma Awards Announced". Ministry of Home Affairs (India). 25 January 2013. Archived from the original on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2013.

[:1-10] "Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak Named 2025 Holberg Prize Laureate". Columbia News. 13 March 2025. Retrieved 16 March 2025.

[11] Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty (11 November 2021). "How the Heritage of Postcolonial Studies Thinks Colonialism Today". Janus Unbound: Journal of Critical Studies. 1 (1): 19–29.^{[non-primary source needed]}

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