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Methodology of the Oppressed

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Every so often, you read a book that makes it all come together for you. In this brilliant and densely footnoted volume, Chela Sandoval identifies the "academic apartheid" that keeps poststructuralism, postcolonial theory, ethnic studies, queer theory, hegemonic (white) feminism, and, especially, U.S. third world feminism isolated from and in limited conversation with one another, despite their common undercurrents. By introducing the concepts of "differential social movement" and "differential consciousness," she makes these spheres mutually intelligible and reconcilable in a way that can facilitate coordinated action for democratic social justice (rather than simply more academic pontification). What is particularly helpful is that she situates her analyses within postmodernity, noting how the dimensions of this historical space at once warrant, demand, and permit new and dynamic forms of activism. You will never think the same way about "theory," U.S. third world feminism, or the possibilities for a democratic future in the era of globalization after reading this book.

This book influenced my life tremendously. For me it was an argument for engaging academic knowledge in its most convoluted and critical forms with daily, socio-political and socio-economic existence. The issues Miss Sandoval addresses move easily beyond identity theories and into linguistic and intellectual resistance in their most functional capacities. Beautiful, dense and worthwhile.

Chela Sandoval, a professor of Chicana/o Studies at UCSB, first introduced what she characterizes as the "methodology of the oppressed" in 1991 with her essay "U.S. Third World Feminism: The Theory and Method of Oppositional Consciousness in the Postmodern World," which is the central to her book "The Methodology of the Oppressed." In the mentioned essay she unravels the meaning of"U.S Third World Feminism,"why and where such movimiento came about , and what different forms of feminist practice it employs to bring social justice. She labels the tactics used by the movimientos as: equal rights, revolutionary, supremacist and separatist. U.S Third World Feminism is then "differential consciousness," which means possessing the faculty of mapping the circumstances one finds herself, and acting accordingly out of the four forms of tactics. By specifically reviewing the works of Western theorists such as that of Frederic Jameson, Roland Barthes and Michael Focault, Sandoval deconstructs and challenges the hegemony of these eurocentric thinkers within 'the Academy' on postmodern resistance and consciousness. She exploits these theoretical faults so that women-of-color continue constructing U.S. Third World Feminism as a legitimized theory and practice. Such hegemonic puncturing movidas by Sandoval, are then examples of the inner/outter technologies that the oppressed use for emancipation: "radical semiology, deconstruction and meta-idealizing." Sandoval can employ these various technologies because of her "differential movement;" the ability of differential perception and deployment of consciousness, or what many Chicana/os know as "la conciencia de la Mestiza." These technologies are guided by her commitment to equity for the marginalized inside/outside the master's home, to make "the system" accountable to our voices. This commitment is what she characterizes as "democratics," the love for people which drives one to pursue social justice, which constitutes the technologies, which are essential for the methodology of the oppressed, which is the methodology of love. Although the "Methodology of The Oppressed" is a rigorous read because of the high theory, it is an extremely brilliant book that gives us hope in laying out possibilities for us to build coalitions across race, class, gender and sexualities to enact social movements to bring social change. This book masterfully makes the connection between the political struggle within the academy, as well as outside, and assist us in strategically negotiating the terms of engagement to meet our normative goals of social equity.

Chela Sandoval's Methodology of the Oppressed is an eloquent and compelling explication of the revolutionary praxis of US Third World Feminism. Throughout, Sandoval provides an accessible roadmap for understanding the fameworks and limitations of a variety of modern theorists ranging from Derrida to Barthes through Haraway.