Postcolonial Realism and the Concept of the Political by Eli Park Sorensen (review)

Abstract

requires a “collaborative attitude” (168). This compelling argument demands a different form of attention and engagement by the reader of Schaffer’s own text, as it pushes us outside of the narrative and thematic understanding of care we have been tracing, asking us to consider “community as the condition of writing” (186). Schaffer ends with a heartfelt demonstration of the ways that care theory and “care readings” can shape our approach to scholarship, teaching, and academic service. The humility with which Schaffer concludes her study is an invitation to join a scholarly and professional community informed by care. When Schaffer shares how care community thinking applies to teaching, I found myself consulting her work as if it were a professional guide, reflecting on the ways that I run my own classes as an effort to “meet another’s needs.” At a time in our history when a global pandemic and demands for racial justice have transformed our personal and professional relationships, pulling into clearer focus our ethical responsibilities, Schaffer’s work offers a way to feel, to reflect, and to act with care.