Scholarly Article
Third space and beyond
Peternai Andrić, Kristina, Kirin, Ivana
2025-12-15 · Poznańskie Studia Slawistyczne · Adam Mickiewicz University Poznan
Abstract
The concept of third space - an abstract space open to social and cultural interactions - was developed by the postcolonial theorist Homi K. Bhabha as a model of understanding post/colonial spaces, identities, cultures, power, and resistance. It is a space beyond binary divisions, where different identities and cultures meet, overlap, and merge. This paper aims at showing the potential of Bhabha's concept within philology, as well as its ability to transcend disciplinary boundaries, as it is - implicitly or explicitly - present in many other disciplines, such as cultural studies, literary criticism, feminism, minority discourses, cultural geography, and elsewhere; that is in the work of E. W. Soja, b. hooks, G. C. Spivak, S. Ahmed, R. J. C. Young, and others. We examine how the reinterpretation of the concept in a different context, as well as its combined use with other theories, can prove valuable for disclosing limits or weaknesses, and in turn allow for a better understanding of representations of different experiences, identities, and cultures. Finally, we consider the potential of literature to grant access to the third space.
Keywords
third space, Homi K. Bhabha, identity, hybridity, cultural difference, treći prostor, identitet, hibridnost, kulturna razlika
Citation Details
Poznańskie Studia Slawistyczne