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subaltern

Originally a term for subordinates in military hierarchies, the term subaltern is elaborated in the work of Antonio Gramsci to refer to groups who are outside the established structures of political representation. In "Can the Subaltern Speak?" Gayatri Spivak suggests that the subaltern is denied access to both mimetic and political forms of representation.

• Derrida, Jacques
• Devi, Mahasweta
• Djebar, Assia
• Gerber, Asa
• Green, André
• Matilal, Biwal Krishna
• Naipaul, V. S.

• aporia
• deconstruction
• différance
• dilemma
• mortiferous self-knowledge
• narcissism
• subaltern