後殖民主義之「後」：超越後殖民想像及底層研究作為批判「理論」

Beyond Postcolonial Imagination and Subaltern Studies as Critical Theory

本文試圖對兩種後殖民主義的文化批判傳統加以澄清並反思。一方面，所謂後殖民理論文獻引起了激烈爭議，但筆者認為許多問題是定義矛盾所造成的，並在不同的學科裡產生了不相容的思考模式。另一方面，「底層研究」（subaltern studies）植根於不同的具體歷史脈絡和理論範疇，同時產生了不同類型的問題意識。透過反思兩種不同但相關的後殖民主義及其跨學科影響，本文主張釐清知識和其事實脈絡之間所產生的共棲關係，才有助於解構殖民文化權力的運作。但兩者最終批評的對象仍然是以西歐為中心的理論正統權威或歷史主流經驗，因此原則上能建立在共同研究架構上。

This paper is an analysis and critique of two genres of postcolonial cultural critique. On the one hand, so-called postcolonial theory has sparked heated debate in the literature. I argue that many problems are caused by contradictions in definition; in different disciplinary contexts, they have created incompatible conceptual mindsets. On the other hand, subaltern studies is rooted in a different concrete historical context and theoretical framework, thus at the same time creating a different kind of problematic. Through a critical reassessment of these different but related postcolonialisms and their interdisciplinary influence, this paper will emphasize the collusive relationship between knowledge and its field of practice in order to deconstruct the operation of colonial cultural power. Yet the object of critical gazing for both is still Eurocentric theoretical authority or its historical prevalence, thus in principle can ultimately be viewed within the same frame of analysis.