Repairing Repair: Postcolonial Paranoia, Affective Temporalities, and Reparative Reading

Abstract:Recent work at the intersection of affect theory and postcolonial studies has generally been skeptical of the reparative turn and concerned about its potential complicity with imperialist agendas. That skepticism is often accompanied by reaffirmations of the value of paranoia as a reliable basis for critique. This essay examines the consequences of paranoia as the default orientation of postcolonial criticism and reflects on how a reparative sensibility might expand the field's understanding of what constitutes meaningful critique. To that end, this essay argues that reparative reading cultivates attentiveness to the ecology of temporalities that are immanent in postcolonial texts—an attentiveness that can facilitate the envisioning of alternative futures. The essay grounds its theoretical reflections by revisiting Jessica Hagedorn's Dogeaters (1990) and examining the predominantly paranoid critical response that the novel has generated before offering an alternative reparative reading of the work.