The Fabric of Subcultures: Networks, Ethnic Force Fields, and Peoples without Power

Description

The Fabric of Subcultures reflects on the state of the postcolonial signature behind stylistic refinements – a world of letters relatively dependent on the West for economic and political realms, and in which language systems, aesthetic orders, and genres struggle for dominance. Rejecting facile talk of postmodernism, with its suggestion of a happy «melting pot» of literature, this book exposes an emerging regime of inequality in the world of letters, where minor languages and literatures are subject to the invisible but implacable violence (of the letter) of their dominant counterparts. Inspired by the writings of Pierre Bourdieu, the book develops the first clear model for understanding the real value of the republic of postcolonial letters (if it ever existed). It proposes a baseline from which we might measure the validity of the emergent, as opposed to residual, signature, while arguing for the importance of literary capital and its role in giving legitimacy to developing peoples in their incessant struggle for international recognition. Within its overarching theory, the book locates three main categories in the genesis of postcolonial literature – English, French, and Creolismo – and closely examines towering figures in the realm of postcolonial letters – Jacques Derrida, Homi Bhabha, Patrick Chamoiseau, Mahmoud Darwish, Jamaica Kincaid, and Caryl Phillips, among others. It also explores the significance of cultural practices related to food (couscous) and sports (soccer) represented here by the iconic figure of Zinédine Zidane, a Beur born and raised in la banlieue (the suburbs). In other words, the book examines from the bottom up the political struggle of the postcolonial subject in the era of postmodernity – one framed by sites of resistance and efforts at constructing a theoretical model for the «inventory of the present» at a time when words like «empire» have possibly taken on a new significance. CONTENTS Preface and Acknowledgments ix Introduction: Davos? No, Porto Alegre 1 PART ONE: THE WEST AND THE REST 1 Translating the Other (of the Other) in all Innocence 35 2 The Logic of Cultural Value and Violence (of the Letter) 71 PART TWO: THE REST AND THE WEST 3 On Borderline between Culture and Subculture 119 4 Un Vent de Folie Postcoloniale 155 5 Retellings from the Bottom up 189 PART THREE: INSOLENTLY TRANSNATIONAL BEST 6 The Poor Man’s Dish—Couscous 219 7 The Postcolonial as Surplus—Zidane Inc. 247 8 Pity Not the Emergent Poet—Darwish & Co. 285 9 Epilogue: La Fouance, Mon Amour 329 Notes 347 Works Cited 393 Index 421