Abstraction

[badgerbag]

http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/010999.html

What? Oh, that? No of course I'm not talking about that. It's just totally abstract.

Comments

[ide-cyan.livejournal.com]

there is a difference between theory and fact

Oh, go on. Tell us why the discipline of history is factual and universal and how that discredits postcolonial theory. And try not to blame postcolonialists for not adhering to the same theory as you. You wouldn't want to have a bad basis for communications or understanding.

[akirlu.livejournal.com]

Sorry, that wasn't what I was trying to say. History as a discipline has all sorts of theoretical approaches, all of which have their own biases. What I was trying to get at was an assumption in this: "Does she have no historical knowledge of the context of colonialism ".

The key phrase I was aiming at is "historical knowledge" in reference to whether tnh (actually as it turns out, pnh, but hey) is aware of Postcolonial prisions of the context of the term "cargo cult". That just looks a lot like assuming that the Postcolonial take is established fact -- something that counts as knowlege -- that one would be blameworthy for not knowing and taking into account. I'm just trying to say that it's dubious to assume that there is such a thing as "historical knowledge of the context of colonialism" that anyone outside of Postcolonial theory adherents is responsible for knowing and taking into account.

[ide-cyan.livejournal.com]

You're reading unwarranted assumptions into ithiliana's question. The irony of which, if you can see it, you should be able to appreciate.

And again you're on a bad basis arguing "facts" as "something that counts as knowledge" (!?!?) "that one would be blameworthy for not knowing and taking into account" because what you're doing is holding up a set of universal values as the rug you want to pull out from under that whole problematic "Post Modern theoretical approach" from this subthread [Post Colonial variant]. Which, again: ironic on an order of magnitude beyond what you give in example in reply to badgerbag below.