Imagining Post-Western Humanities in a Globalised World
Guest editors: Alessandro Vescovi (Università degli Studi di Milano, alessandro.vescovi@unimi.it), Federica Zullo (Università degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo, federica.zullo@uniurb.it), and Binayak Roy (University of North Bengal, binayakroyeng@nbu.ac.in).
In the twentieth century, the West represented a lifestyle, an economic model, a geopolitical entity and a cultural tradition, despite the many diversities among schools and movements. The propensity of the twentieth-century humanities to interrogate and criticise their former imperialist self by elaborating critical paradigms and interrogating century-old traditions chimed with critiques hailing from former colonies. This convergence, however, often enhanced by the prestige ensuing from Western capitals, has unwittingly protracted the hegemony of Western models imposed through colonialism and neocolonialism. Such models were paradoxically reinforced even by their critics, as many of them, like Gayatri Spivak, Edward Said, Homi Bhabha, Dipesh Chakrabarti, Walter Mignolo, have been based in the metropolitan West. Even when they were not, like Frantz Fanon, they often relied on Marxist or deconstructionist paradigms for their critique. Likewise, the emergence of postcolonial literature has often been accompanied by the endorsement of Western literary prizes (Man Booker, Prix Médicis étranger, Pulitzer, Nobel), which have periodically sanctioned local literature for a global readership.
Recently, two phenomena have gained momentum: the globalisation of the economy is shifting the centres of economic power, diffusing them to sites that do not belong to the former global north. Parallel to, and independent from, this economic trend, a critical interest in borderlands studies, queer studies, indigenous studies, and even environmental studies is challenging the hegemony of Western epistemological paradigms. While the English language is no longer the language of the West but rather of World Literatures, creative writers have ceased “writing back to the centre” and are now writing out to the world at large. Likewise, legislators have come to recognise the juridical persona of sacred sites, while scientists recognise the value of Traditional Ecological Knowledge.
The proposed issue will reflect on how the global debate within the humanities is enriched by contributions coming from indigenous epistemologies, non-Western lore, and alternative or hybrid sets of values and lore deposits.
We invite scholars and researchers from various disciplines to submit proposals that engage with these complex and evolving dynamics. The editors welcome scholarly contributions that aim to:
- Explore the decentering of the West in the realms of literature, language, and culture.
- Analyse the impact of globalisation, both economic and intellectual, on these fields.
- Discuss the emergence of new critical perspectives and their challenges to Western hegemony.
- Examine the role of language and literature in mediating these shifts in power and knowledge production.
- Investigate the changing landscape of literary production and reception in a postcolonial and globalised world.
- Problematise the relationship between Western rationalism and traditional forms of lore.
Possible themes include, but are not limited to:
- Critical interventions in established literary canons and the rise of new literary centres. Does the postcolonial canon need revision?
- The exploration of alternative epistemologies and their influence on cultural production.
- The impact of new media and communication technologies on language and culture, especially when they are not based in the ‘global north’.
- The challenges and opportunities of “World Literature” as an heir to postcolonial literature in the 21st century.
- A defence of classical postcolonial studies against globalised humanities.
- What languages will convey the literatures of the future?
- Is there such a thing as a classical postcolonial canon of the 20th century?
- Will indigenous literature and art speak to the world regardless of traditional Western forms such as the novel?
- How can our curricula cater to a post-Western literary landscape?
Keywords: Decentering, West, globalisation, epistemology, literature, language, culture, power, postcolonial, World Literature decentring, West, globalisation, epistemology, literature, language, culture, power, postcolonial, World Literature.
Indicative Bibliography
Anim-Addo, Joan. 2008. “Towards a Post-Western Humanism Made to the Measure of Those Recently Recognised as Human.” In: Mina Karavanta and Nina Morgan, eds. Edward Said and Jacques Derrida: Reconstellating Humanism and the Global Hybrid. New Castle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, pp. 250-273.
Ascione, Gennaro. 2024. Concept Formation in Global Studies: Post-Western Approaches to Critical Human Knowledge. New York: Rowman & Littlefield.
Chakrabarty, Dipesh. 2000. Provincializing Europe. Postcolonial Thought and Historical Difference. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.
Chakrabarty, Dipesh. 2022. “Planetary humanities: Straddling the decolonial/postcolonial divide.” Daedalus no. 151.3, 222-233.
Ghosh, Amitav. 2023. The Nutmegs Curse. Parables for a World in Crisis. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
Quayson, Ato, and Ankhi Mukherjee, eds. 2023. Decolonising the English Literary Curriculum. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Roulleau-Berger, L., & Li, P. eds. 2018. Post-Western Sociology: from China to Europe. London: Routledge.
Serfaty, Simon. 2011. “Moving into a Post-Western World.” The Washington Quarterly 34, no. 2, 7–23.
Vasilaki, Rosa. 2012. "Provincialising IR? Deadlocks and prospects in post-Western IR theory.” Millennium, no. 41.1 (2012): 3-22.
Zinato, Susanna. 2025. “From Post-Western to Transcultural Humanism and Return to Literature.” Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie Occidentale, no. 59.
Submission guidelines
Submission deadline: 1st March 2027.
The journal publication is scheduled for December 2027.
All submissions will undergo a double-blind peer-review process to ensure high academic standards.
We kindly request that all contributions submitted adhere to the stylesheet norms.
Submitted articles should also include an abstract of 120-150 words summarising the main arguments and the conclusions, as well as five keywords. For further details, we ask that you refer to the link above or contact the guest editors Alessandro Vescovi (Università degli Studi di Milano, alessandro.vescovi@unimi.it), Federica Zullo (Università degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo, federica.zullo@uniurb.it) and Binayak Roy (University of North Bengal, binayakroyeng@nbu.ac.in).