Genealogy and Social Criticism
Discusses the evolution of criticism in recent decades & the reemergence of formerly subjugated forms of knowledge & meaning. The inhibiting effects of totalitarian, universal theories have been recognized, & autonomous, noncentralized, nontraditional criticism & theoretical production have gained increased legitimacy. These processes have coincided with & been facilitated by the resurrection of subjugated knowledges in two arenas: those discourses & meanings historically dismissed & buried by formalized systems, & sets of knowledge previously deemed inadequate or insufficient under the rhetoric of science. The postmodern genealogy of knowledge is characterized by the union of erudite knowledge & local memories in an attempt to elucidate, understood, & overcome historical struggles. This genealogy also represents on effort to utilize historically subjugated forms of meaning & knowledge to fight against the coercion & bias of theoretical, universal, formal, & scientific discourses. T. Sevier