Communicating in the Third Space aims to clarify Homi K. Bhabha’s theory of the third space of enunciation by reconstructing its philosophical, sociological, geographical, and political meaning with attention to the special advantages and ambiguities that arise as it is applied in practical--as well as theoretical--contexts. The idea of "third space" conceives the encounter of two distinct and unequal social groups as taking place in a special third space of enunciation where culture is disseminated and displaced from the interacting groups, making way for the invention of a hybrid identity, whereby these two groups conceive themselves to partake in a common identity relating to shared space and common dialogue. The essays collected in Communicating in the Third Space--including a preface by Bhabha himself--brilliantly introduce readers to this exciting topic in Cultural and Post-Colonial theory and offers insightful elaboration and critique of the meaning and relevance of life in the "third space." With a preface by Homi K. Bhabha.
Preface: In the Cave of Making: Thoughts on Third Space.
By Homi K. Bhabha
Introduction
The Quest for Inter- or Transcultural Communication
Chapter One: Cosmopolitanization Without Cosmopolitans: On the Distinction between Normative and Empirical-analytical Cosmopolitanism in Philosophy and the Social Sciences
By Ulrich Beck
Chapter Two: Encounters in the Third Space: Links Between Intercultural Communication Theories and Postcolonial Approaches
By Britta Kalscheuer
The Spatial Turn
Chapter Three: Thirdspace: Toward a New Consciousness of Space and Spatiality
By Edward W. Soja
Chapter Four: Pitfalls of (Third) Space: Rethinking the Effects of Location
Julia Lossau
Theorizing the Third Space
Chapter Five: The Void of Misgiving
By Robert J.C. Young
Chapter Six: Postcolonial Subjectivity and the Transclassical Logic of the Third
By Karin Ikas and Gerhard Wagner
Literizing the Third Space
Chapter Seven: Caliban’s Voice: Writing in the Third Space
By Bill Ashcroft
Chapter Eight: Crossing into a Mexifornian Third Space
By Karin Ikas
Locations and Negotiations
Chapter Nine: Transcultural Negotiations: Third Spaces in Modern Times
By Frank Schulze-Engler
Chapter Ten: Two Nations in the Third Space: Postcolonial Theory and the Polish Revolution
By Gerhard Wagner
Contributors
Index
Biography
Karin Ikas is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of English & American Studies at Frankfurt (M) University where she also holds a senior research position in the Department of Social Sciences. Her dissertation on "Modern Chicana Literature: An Intercultural Analysis" won the prestigious Daimler Chrysler Foundation's "Academy Award for Intercultural Studies." Her books include Chicana Ways (2002), Gender Debat/tl/ed (2003), Stories from Down Under, co-edited with David Carter (2004), Violence and Transgression in World Minority Literatures (co-editor, 2005) and Global Realignments and the Canadian Nation in the Third Millennium (2009). Forthcoming is 'A Nation Forged in Fire': Canadian Literature and the Construction of National Identity.
Gerhard Wagner
is a professor at the Department for Social Sciences at Frankfurt (M) University. His publications include Der Fremde als sozialer Typus (co-editor, 2002), Projekt Europa (2005), Kultur in Zeiten der Globalisierung (co-editor, 2005), Eine Geschichte der Soziologie (2007) and an introductory novel into sociology entitled Paulette on the Beach that was published in German as Paulette am Strand (2008). Currently, he is preparing the manuscript of the correspondence between Alfred Schuetz and Eric Voegelin for press with University of Missouri Press. He is further the co-editor of vol.1 (2007) and 2 (2008) of the five-volume edition of the collected works of Albert Salomon. Forthcoming is his monograph Die Wissenschaftstheorie der Soziologie (2010) and his edited essay collection entitled Wie wirkt Recht? Beiträge zur rechtssoziologischen Effektivitätsforschung."Communicating in the Third Space offers a rare and much needed critical debate on the value of Bhabha's third space for theorising intercultural interaction in the social sciences and the humanities."--Dana C. Mount, Postcolonial Text
"This competently edited volume is a significant and relevant study in the field of postcolonial discourse and inter- or transnational cultural studies in its great scope and rich heterogeneity. In its diverse range of analysis this volume of essays communicates well enough to students, scholars, researchers and critics interested in exploring new and alternative interpretations of different third spaces in transition." --Sanghamitra Dalal, Transnational Literature
