From Subaltern Studies to Provincializing Europe: Some Postocolonial Remarks on History

Chakrabarty, Dipesh

The text indicates the second half of the 20th century as a turning point in the 19th century perception of history that was used by European imperialists to justify their colonial expansion. He proves that historical thinking is conditioned culturally taking as an example the contrast between India and the West. Anticolonial movements reverse the colonial discourse making it an argument for a quick democratisation of the societies that diverge from the European model due to a reduced number of civilisation development stages and a resignation from the historical perspective. Subaltern Studies undermine the universality of the European model of modernity and its adequacy in the former colonies after the fall of the Western empires.

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6 19 Chakrabarty D. Od Subaltern Studies do Provincializing Europe [pdf] [74 KB]