Dear Fellow Critter,
Within the ambit of a scheme of resistance within a theorization of the site of writing is a “counterplace” I would like to nest a broader paradigm of critical writing of the body-self. I liken critical writing to a dynamic site of struggle, contestation, and mediation - following Elizabeth Grosz’s work on bodies as sites of power. And I would appreciate suggestions, etc. I would also find interesting any suggestions as to collaborative work.
Critical writing, as I see it, is an ontological exercise of critique caught up within the spaces of re-visiting, re-visioning, and – ultimately – re-writing. It is the matrix of counter-discourse/counter-knowledge. For me, critical writing is that of power because the issue of power is an ever present and dominant factor. Moreover, by expressing things in the way of critical writing – in one way rather than another – dominant representations can be questioned and new knowledges (un)consciously reinforced. Hence, given its broad con-textual powers and its substance as overarchingly political, critical writing disturbs the dramatic allure of exclusive positions. The political import consists of writing against the grain, against naturalizing representations of power, to expose its contradictions, to offer resistance, to take a shot at proposing alternatives.
To a large extent, in constructing this vision of critical writing I take a cue from the views of poststructuralist feminist Hélène Cixous on writing. Importantly, Cixous emphasizes the significance of writing as resistance and thus brings out its activist potentialities. For her, writing is “a call to action, revolution and transgression.” Whilst her line of emphasis falls within what is often termed corporeal feminism – she terms it écriture féminine (feminine writing) – the insights she brings to light are not exclusive to women or feminism as long as they promote resistance. The politics of resistance in the Cixousian conception of writing rests in it being not “just writing,” but also a writing that is at once radical, subversive, illuminatory, and emancipatory – in a nutshell, critical.
Because the critical approach I take toward writing is informed by poststructuralism, I see it as interweaving the personal, cultural/social, and political in active and complex ways, freeing theory from the constraints of location, allowing for transgressive, syncretic reasoning. As heir to the poststructuralist tradition, critical writing guarantees a continuing role for resistance, but mainly in relation to the art (technē) of producing and practicing new knowledges about one's self.
Hope to hear from you.
Regards,
Akin
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