Between Truth and History: Perspectives on Culture, Politics, and Theory

Written in the last decade of the millennium, the book is of enormous range and subtlety. It is born out of an intellectual confrontation with the ideas of some of the foremost thinkers of modern times. Shelley Walia takes as his starting point the role of the intellectual and his position vis-?-vis the writing of foundational histories which need to be challenged. He is against the insulation of the academia from larger public life and it is for this reason that his interests are manifold. He has incisively written on important social and political issues some of which are cultural theory, the problem of writing ‘authentic histories’, race matters, and the dissident writer. Whatever the author is exploring, he returns always to the ubiquity of alienation, the necessity of revolt, and the need to speak up. He does not treat areas such as sociology and social and economic history as secluded from the major and everyday problems in the world outside. On the other hand, his book brings an enriching experience of interaction between society and the academy. At a time when most of the universities around the world give courses on issues that are related to culture and history, this collection of essays performs a useful service for students, helping thereby to set a direction for the next generation. The importance of this book lies in Shelley Walia’s range of knowledge, which enables him to write with clarity about figures as much discussed as Foucault, Derrida, Said, and Hobsbawm. His purpose is to draw out their significance in the development of contemporary consciousness. He should be commended for crossing the boundaries of disciplines and schools of thought, thus providing a uniquely broad-based approach to matters in our own time.