Uma Narayan, “Essence of Culture and a Sense of History: A Feminist Critique of Cultural Essentialism” Hypatia 13 (Spring 1998) 86-106.
Reading and Discussion
Questions
Reading Questions
Note that both the article
abstract on p.86 and the roadmap for the article Narayan offers in the first full
paragraph on p. 87 help the reader to identify exactly what Narayan argues. You’ll want to read these carefully both
before and after reading the whole article.
1. Narayan focuses on two types of “essentialism”: gender essentialism and cultural essentialism. She operates with a broad definition of essentialism as holding that objects or groups have an unchanging and universal essence that defines them, a distinctive essence or nature, a certain homogeneity. Here is a definition from brittanica.com of what philosophers mean more generally by essentialism:
Essentialism, philosophy
Main
In ontology, the view that some properties of objects are essential to them. The “essence” of a thing is conceived as the totality of its essential properties. Theories of essentialism differ with respect to their conception of what it means to say that a property is essential to an object. The concept of an essential property is closely related to the concept of necessity, since one way of saying that a property P is essential to an object O is to say that the proposition “O has P” is necessarily true. A general but not very informative way of characterizing essential properties is to say that a property is essential to an object if the object cannot lack the property and still be the object that it is. Properties of an object that are not essential in this sense are said to be accidental. (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1296094/essentialism; accessed 4-15-09)
What does Narayan mean by
gender essentialism? By cultural essentialism? According to Narayan, how and why does the
effort some feminists make to avoid gender essentialism sometimes lead to cultural
essentialism?
2. What are some of the similarities between gender and cultural essentialism that Narayan identifies on p. 88? Here are two; elaborate on each:
a. constructing binaries - such as male/female'; Western/Non-western; Western/Indian
b. conflating "socially dominant norms" with actual values and practices
3. Narayan describes ways in which both colonizers and nationalists deployed the notion of cultural difference especially in terms of a contrast between Western and non-Western cultures. What political advantages did this deployment have for each? What was covered over? Narayan uses the examples of the portrait of Western culture as embracing liberty and equality and the British and anti-colonialist use of "spiritualism" as characteristic of "Indian" culture. What do these examples illustrate for her?
4. What are some problems that emerge when feminists essentialize Third World cultures in terms of privileged or underprivileged women according to Narayan (90-91)? With essentialist versions of non-Western cultures that "equate women's conformity to the status quo with 'the preservation of culture' and cast feminist challenges to norms and practices affecting women as 'cultural betrayals.'" (91). --that cast feminists as "cultural traitors" (91)?
5. In section II, "Culturally Essentialist Maneuvers and Feminist Challenges" Narayan identifies some culturally essentialist "moves" she argues fundamentalists make and "counter-moves" that feminists make. She explains "anti-essentialist" ways of thinking about cultural differences that she wants postcolonial feminists to employ.
a. Why does she think historical and political analyses are critical, particularly those that explain how certain characteristics and values get defined as central?
b. Why is a focus on how cultures change over time important according to Narayan?
c. How do her description of the development of the notions of "Western culture" and "Indian culture" illustrate her points?
d. Her example of sati?
e. Her example of female circumcision/excision in Sierra Leone?
f. What are "synecdochic substitution" and "selective labeling"? (95-96)
6. In section III "'Progressive' Versions of Cultural Essentialism" Narayan argues that some "progressive" discourses have also adopted cultural essentialism. She identifies what she sees as several problems in this area. She uses the examples of "women's equality" and "human rights" as Western, imperialist values. How so? What moves does she think feminists should make?
7. In section IV "Cultural Relativism and Cultural Essentialism" Narayan criticizes the notion that relativism fights imperialism. She suggests that feminists should be wary of both universalism and relativism.
a. How does she define universalism and relativism in relation to cultural essentialism? Why does she think feminists should be wary of them?
b. What is the problem with "neat packages"? (102)
c. What is her "stance" on generalization? (103-04) What are "pseudouniversalism" and "pseudoparticularism" (104)?
Questions for Discussion
1. What does Narayan mean by gender essentialism and cultural essentialism?
According to Narayan,
how and why does the effort some feminists make to avoid gender essentialism sometimes
lead to cultural essentialism?
2. Narayan describes ways in which both colonizers and nationalists deployed the notion of cultural difference especially in terms of a contrast between Western and non-Western cultures. What political advantages did this deployment have for each? What was covered over? Narayan uses the examples of the portrait of Western culture as embracing liberty and equality and the British and anti-colonialist use of "spiritualism" as characteristic of "Indian" culture. What do these examples illustrate for her?
3. In several sections Narayan explains her view that both "fundamentalists" and "progressives" use cultural essentialism against feminists in Third World cultures, labeling them as dupes or cultural traitors. How so? What are some of her examples?
4. In section II, "Culturally Essentialist Maneuvers and Feminist Challenges" Narayan identifies some culturally essentialist "moves" she argues fundamentalists make and "counter-moves" that feminists make. She explains "anti-essentialist" ways of thinking about cultural differences that she wants postcolonial feminists to employ.
a. Why does she think historical and political analyses are critical, particularly those that explain how certain characteristics and values get defined as central?
b. Why is a focus on how cultures change over time important according to Narayan?
c. How do her description of the development of the notions of "Western culture" and "Indian culture" illustrate her points?
d. Her example of sati?
e. Her example of female circumcision/excision in Sierra Leone?
f. What are "synecdochic substitution" and "selective labeling"? (95-96)
5. Summarize the main points Narayan makes in this article in five or six sentences. Both the article abstract on p.86 and the roadmap for the article Narayan offers in the first full paragraph on p. 87 should help you to do so.
6. What do you see as two key strengths and two key weaknesses of the article?
7. Is essentialism always problematic? Why might some feminists argue a "strategic essentialism" is useful in certain cases?
8. What are the take-away points from this article for you?