The Crossbill News Desk
Indian scholar and eminent literary theorist Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak has been awarded the 2025 Holberg Prize, one of the world’s most prestigious academic honours, for her outstanding contributions to literary theory, philosophy, and postcolonial studies.
Currently, Spivak is a Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University and is widely recognized as one of the most influential intellectuals of our time.
Her work spans multiple disciplines, including comparative literature, translation studies, feminist theory, and political philosophy.
Spivak’s landmark essay, “Can the Subaltern Speak?” (1988), remains a cornerstone of postcolonial studies, critically examining the ways in which marginalized voices are often excluded from dominant narratives.
Among her other acclaimed works are Critique of Postcolonial Reason (1999), Death of a Discipline (2003), An Aesthetic Education in the Era of Globalisation (2012), and Ethics and Politics in Tagore, Coetzee and Certain Scenes of Teaching (2018).
Her concept of “planetarity”, introduced in Death of a Discipline, presents an ethical alternative to globalization, advocating for a more interconnected and responsible intellectual framework.
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, born in Kolkata in 1942, pursued her education at the University of Calcutta before earning a doctorate from Cornell University.
Beyond academia, Spivak has been actively engaged in grassroots educational initiatives for marginalized communities, particularly in rural West Bengal, where she has founded and funded schools. She has also worked on literacy programs across multiple countries.
Her activism and scholarship have also centered on poverty and development in Africa, with a special focus on indigenous languages that were not systematized by missionaries. Through her contributions both within and beyond academia, Spivak has served as a significant source of inspiration for young scholars, particularly—but not exclusively—from the Global South.
Announcing the award, Holberg Committee Chair Heike Krieger praised Spivak’s intellectual rigor and activism.
“As a public intellectual and activist, Spivak combats illiteracy in marginalized rural communities across several countries, including in West Bengal, India where she has founded, funded and participated in educational initiatives. For Spivak, rigorous creativity must intersect with local initiatives to provide alternatives to intellectual colonialism,” Krieger stated.
“Her concepts, such as “strategic essentialism” and “global criticality,” are now widely used and debated. Spivak’s work challenges readers, students, and researchers to “train the imagination” through a sustained study of literature and culture. Taking the core of Western thought as an object of critical analysis, she has inspired, enabled, and supported otherwise inconceivable lines of critical interrogations—both at the centres and margins of global modernity,” Krieger added.
The Holberg Prize, established by the Norwegian government in 2003, recognizes outstanding contributions to the arts, humanities, social sciences, law, and theology. Spivak joins a distinguished list of scholars who have reshaped global intellectual discourse.
Spivak’s recognition by the Holberg Prize further cements her legacy as a trailblazer in contemporary thought, whose work continues to push the boundaries of scholarship and social activism.
Currently, Spivak is a Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University and is widely recognized as one of the most influential intellectuals of our time.
Her work spans multiple disciplines, including comparative literature, translation studies, feminist theory, and political philosophy.
Spivak’s landmark essay, “Can the Subaltern Speak?” (1988), remains a cornerstone of postcolonial studies, critically examining the ways in which marginalized voices are often excluded from dominant narratives.
Among her other acclaimed works are Critique of Postcolonial Reason (1999), Death of a Discipline (2003), An Aesthetic Education in the Era of Globalisation (2012), and Ethics and Politics in Tagore, Coetzee and Certain Scenes of Teaching (2018).
Her concept of “planetarity”, introduced in Death of a Discipline, presents an ethical alternative to globalization, advocating for a more interconnected and responsible intellectual framework.
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, born in Kolkata in 1942, pursued her education at the University of Calcutta before earning a doctorate from Cornell University.
Beyond academia, Spivak has been actively engaged in grassroots educational initiatives for marginalized communities, particularly in rural West Bengal, where she has founded and funded schools. She has also worked on literacy programs across multiple countries.
Her activism and scholarship have also centered on poverty and development in Africa, with a special focus on indigenous languages that were not systematized by missionaries. Through her contributions both within and beyond academia, Spivak has served as a significant source of inspiration for young scholars, particularly—but not exclusively—from the Global South.
Announcing the award, Holberg Committee Chair Heike Krieger praised Spivak’s intellectual rigor and activism.
The 2025 Holberg Prize is awarded to Indian scholar Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, of Columbia University, for her ground-breaking interdisciplinary research in comparative literature, translation, postcolonial studies, political philosophy, and feminist theory.… pic.twitter.com/8ctDtVu5lK
— The Holberg Prize (@HolbergPrize) March 13, 2025
“As a public intellectual and activist, Spivak combats illiteracy in marginalized rural communities across several countries, including in West Bengal, India where she has founded, funded and participated in educational initiatives. For Spivak, rigorous creativity must intersect with local initiatives to provide alternatives to intellectual colonialism,” Krieger stated.
“Her concepts, such as “strategic essentialism” and “global criticality,” are now widely used and debated. Spivak’s work challenges readers, students, and researchers to “train the imagination” through a sustained study of literature and culture. Taking the core of Western thought as an object of critical analysis, she has inspired, enabled, and supported otherwise inconceivable lines of critical interrogations—both at the centres and margins of global modernity,” Krieger added.
The Holberg Prize, established by the Norwegian government in 2003, recognizes outstanding contributions to the arts, humanities, social sciences, law, and theology. Spivak joins a distinguished list of scholars who have reshaped global intellectual discourse.
Spivak’s recognition by the Holberg Prize further cements her legacy as a trailblazer in contemporary thought, whose work continues to push the boundaries of scholarship and social activism.
Stella Baltazar
Very happy and prud to hear about Gayarto mam's contribution. Let many more authers blosdom like you to fuel the passion for social integrity and fraternal living.