Anti-polarization identity politics in Malaysia
Critical race subjects and the theatre of Leow Puay Tin
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4465712 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mohan Ambikaipaker (0000-0003-0197-7916, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2013 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 340-357 |
| Publication date | 2013-12-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Postcolonial Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1368-8790 • E-ISSN: 1466-1888 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13688790.2013.842529 |
| OpenAlex | W2056639068 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
Contemporary theories of racial identity have argued that race is ultimately a social-political construct rather than a primordial, biological or even cultural essence. In this article, I examine the work of the theatre activist Leow Puay Tin and explore how dissident cultural representations are mobilized in Malaysia in response to the politics of Malay domination and the coloniality of raciological social conditions. I propose the concept of a 'critical race subject' in Malaysian cultural politics – a social actor who articulates a voice that goes beyond the confines of established ethno-racial self-interest, in this case Malaysian Chineseness. Critical race subjects, like Leow, work to exceed the limits of the reified racial logics of Malaysian politics, albeit from particularistic standpoints of experience. In so doing they disrupt the re-inscriptions of power relations configured through reiterative racialization, authoritarian capitalist developmentalism and institutionalized ethnic conflict
Aesthetics · Art · Identity politics · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Asian Studies and History · Education and Islamic Studies · Gender Studies · History · Law · Socioeconomic Development in Asia
| Citations per year | 0.45 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2015 - 2025 (11) |
| Highly cited | No |