The Voice of the Subaltern
We can hear the voice of the subaltern by allowing the subordinate society members to express their views. In 1982, subaltern studies were established where a group of scholars in India who had trained in the West decided to reclaim the history of the underclasses. The voices of the underclass went unheard before the subaltern studies. In critical theory, subaltern refers to the marginalized social groups in society. As per the subaltern studies, the subaltern has been excluded from social-economic institutions and denied a political voice. Due to the hegemonic influence of the ruling class, the subaltern has an inferior status in society. The subaltern studies restored back the voice of the subaltern, which tells the society on the importance of social justice in all aspects of life.
Alternative sources need to be used to find the voice of the subaltern. As per the Spivak, Western intellectuals have changed the forms of thinking and acquiring knowledge (Spivak & Riach, 2016). By adopting the non-Western means of knowledge, the subaltern native cannot be heard. For instance, cases of gender inequality and racism are prevalent in the post-colonial period. Most people expected that racism and social inequalities would end after the colonial period, which is not the case. The voice of the subaltern can only be heard and understood by looking and understanding the Western culture. According to the subaltern studies, scholars need to exclude themselves from the expert position to hear the voice of the subaltern. Subaltern scholars need to listen to the views of the subordinate class and interact with the subaltern before drawing any conclusions. Failure to interact with the subaltern signifies dominance over them, which is another form of discrimination. Before the subaltern studies, most scholars desired to know the subaltern colonialism experiences. However, the scholars failed to listen to the subaltern’s own explanations of the colonial experience, which hindered the subaltern voice from being heard (Littlejohn, 2019). We need to adhere to Western knowledge when looking for the voices of the subaltern since cultural superiority cannot be assumed in the post-colonial period. By placing the subordinate groups at the center of our talk, we can hear the voice of the vulnerable groups in society. Also, the voice of the subaltern can be heard through allowing the marginalized groups to develop their own political, social, and economic movements.
The voice of the subaltern helps us to rediscover events and activities that had been forbidden. Gender inequality did not start yesterday, but it started many years ago. Historically, women are vulnerable members of society. During the colonial period, women were restricted from participating in economic activities. The voice of the subaltern helps to understand the historical suffering that the women underwent for being socially and economically neglected. The voice of the subaltern thus tells us to eliminate any forms of discrimination against women and racism in the effort of achieving an equal opportunity society.
References
Littlejohn, K. (2019). Can the subaltern speak?: Challenges of postcolonial historiography. Teaching History, 53(4), 38.
Spivak, G. C., & Riach, G. (2016). Can the subaltern speak? (p. 254). ? London: Macat International Limited.