Redefining hope as praxis

Haran, Joan 2010. Redefining hope as praxis. Journal for Cultural Research 14 (4) , pp. 393-408. 10.1080/14797581003765341

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Abstract

In this article, a novel by the North American ecofeminist Starhawk is read for its theorisation of the challenge of imagining futures which do not secure justice for some at the expense of others. The article puts this reading of The Fifth Sacred Thing (1993)in dialogue with Jessica Benjamin's work on intersubjectivity and Vivian Sobchack's work on interobjectivity to argue that the working through of intersubjective and interobjective relationality engaged in by Starhawk's protagonists may be read as the narrative theorisation of a praxis of hope. It further claims that the practice of reading fiction as theory rather than critiquing fiction with theory can expand the potential of our capacity to imagine social transformation. It argues that feminist theory is always already hopeful because of its production from within an imagined or interpretive community that is passionately invested in the possibility of social transformation. The article concludes that the novel theorises the transformative potential of working through the anxiety and despair provoked by threats to that possibility without glossing over the risks that such a strategy entails.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Centre for Economic and Social Aspects of Genomics (CESAGen) Social Sciences (Includes Criminology and Education)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Additional Information:	Special issue: Hope and Feminist Theory
Publisher:	Routledge
ISSN:	1479-7585
Last Modified:	04 Jun 2017 03:16
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/19190

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