Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak's Heated Exchange with Audience Member at JNU Lecture Sparks Debate

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, a prominent literary critic and Columbia University professor, sparked outrage during a recent speech at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), following a heated exchange of words with a member of the audience. The interaction, which was caught on camera and extensively circulated on social media, started as an intellectual and academic discussion but swiftly turned into a heated argument about pronunciation.

Anshul Kumar, who claims to be the Founding Professor and Chairperson of the Centre for Brahmin Studies in his “X” (formerly Twitter) bio, shared a video of their conversation on the microblogging platform, reported India Today. The confrontation occurred when Kumar attempted to raise a question, but Spivak continuously interrupted him and corrected his pronunciation of W.E.B. Du Bois, a well-known Black civil rights activist.

Spivak sternly insisted, “Du Bois (pronounced Do Boys). Will you please learn his name? If you’re going to talk about the man who is perhaps the best historian and sociologist of the last century and this is supposed to be an elite university, then please take the trouble to learn how to pronounce his name.” She further emphasized that W.E.B. Du Bois is an “Englishman, not French.”

Spivak accused Kumar of being disrespectful to an elderly woman when he responded with, “If you’re done with the trivialities…” The moderator stepped in, telling Kumar to keep the questions concise. Spivak sternly reprimanded Kumar when he spoke up again, mispronouncing Du Bois’s name, and then disregarded his query, letting the moderator go on to the next group of participants.

The incident elicited conflicting views online. Some criticised Spivak for what they saw as arrogant and degrading behaviour, while others defended her position, claiming that accurate pronunciation is crucial and Kumar should have been corrected for his mispronunciation.

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, 82, is a prominent scholar known for her groundbreaking work in literary theory and feminism. Spivak, a Columbia University professor and founding member of the Institute for Comparative Literature and Society, looks into women’s experiences in colonial and postcolonial contexts, and advocates for the amplification of marginalised voices. Among her important works are “Can the Subaltern Speak?” and “In Other Worlds: Essays in Cultural Politics.”

Stay ahead with all the exam results updates on News18 Website.