Beyond Reason: Postcolonial Theory and the Social Sciences

An ambitious and controversial argument that the social sciences do not transcend their modern and Western origins, and are thus a parochial, not a universal, form of knowledge. Since the social sciences are not explained and validated simply by the fact that they are "true," this book proceeds to inquire into what purpose they serve, what it is that they "do". Anatomizes the disciplines of history and political science to ask what representations of the past and of politics these academic disciplines enable, and what possibilities they foreclose. Engages with a wide range of disciplines and contemporary thinkers in the course of developing its argument, all in a lucid and jargon free manner.