Death of a Discipline (The Wellek Library Lectures) Hardcover – June 15, 2003 9780231129442

In the era of globalization, when mammoth projects of world literature in translation are being undertaken in the United States, how can we protect the multiplicity of languages and literatures at the university? Spivak demonstrates how critics interested in social justice should pay close attention to literary form and offers new interpretations of classics such as Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness and Virginia Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own. Through close readings of texts not only in English, French, and German but also in Arabic and Bengali, Spivak practices what she preaches.

Acclaim for Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and her work:

“[Spivak] pioneered the study in literary theory of non-Western women.”―Edward W. Said

“She has probably done more long-term political good, in pioneering feminist and post-colonial studies within global academia, than almost any of her theoretical colleagues.” ―Terry Eagleton

“A celebrity in academia… create[s] a stir wherever she goes.” ―The New York Times