Planetary Loves Spivak, Postcoloniality, and Theology [Hardcover]

Postcolonial theology has recently emerged as a site of intense intellectual and political energy and has taken its place in the interdisciplinary field of postcolonial studies. This volume is animated by the conviction that postcolonial theology is now ready for a second, deeper phase of engagement with postcolonial theory, one that moves beyond the general to the specific. No critic has been more emblematic of the challenging and contested field of postcolonial theory than Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. In this volume, the product of a theological colloquium in which Spivak herself participated, theologians and biblical scholars engage with her thought in order to catalyze a diverse range of original theological and exegetical projects.

The volume opens with a topography of postcolonial theology and also includes other valuable introductory essays. At the center of the collection are transcriptions of two extended public dialogues with Spivak on theology and religion in general. A further dozen essays appropriate Spivak's work for theological and ethical reflection.

The volume is also significant for the larger field of postcolonial studies in that it is the first to focus centrally on Spivak's immensely suggestive and vital concept of planetarity.

This timely and valuable volume follows from a conference on Gyatri Spivak's theorizing and reading-approaches, applying and amplifying these in the field of theological studies. The result is an amazing collection of essays which dazzles with new insights and reflections, and is an attractive addition to the ever-growing literature on postcolonial theology. Aside from its erudition, this book is for those who care about love, compassion, justice and tolerance in an increasingly conflict-ridden world.Gayatri Spivak's reflections on the concept of planetarity raise urgent questions about the possibility of collectivity, and the challenges of responsible engagement with subaltern constituencies. ThlÑ