Columbia Prof. And Intellectual Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak Wins Holberg Prize

Photo: Columbia University/Alice Attie

India-West News Desk

NEW YORK, NY – Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, a towering intellectual force in literary theory and postcolonial studies, has been named the recipient of the 2025 Holberg Prize—one of the world’s most prestigious academic honors. Spivak’s groundbreaking work in critical theory, feminism, and translation studies has redefined the way scholars approach literature, power, and marginalization.

Spivak, who has served as University Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University since 2007, is revered for her contributions to literary criticism and postcolonial thought. Her seminal essay, Can the Subaltern Speak? (1988), challenged dominant intellectual paradigms by exposing how marginalized voices—particularly those of subaltern women—are systematically silenced. This work remains foundational in postcolonial discourse, inspiring generations of scholars to interrogate structures of power and exclusion.

Spivak’s academic journey began at the University of Calcutta before she earned her doctorate from Cornell University. For decades, Spivak advocated for engaged intellectual tradition and has maintained deep ties to Bengal. Her translation of Mahasweta Devi’s short story Draupadi brought international attention to the experiences of tribal women in India, exemplifying her commitment to using literature as a tool for justice and visibility. She has dedicated herself to grassroots education, running self-subsidized schools in some of India’s most impoverished regions.

The Holberg Prize committee noted her extraordinary impact, stating: “Spivak’s work challenges readers, students, and researchers to ‘train the imagination’ through a sustained study of literature and culture. Taking the core of Western thought as an object of critical analysis, she has inspired, enabled, and supported otherwise inconceivable lines of critical interrogations—both at the centers and margins of global modernity.” Her belief in “training the imagination” extends beyond the walls of elite institutions.

With nine books to her name and her works translated into over 20 languages, Spivak’s influence spans disciplines and continents.

The award, which carries a $540,000 prize, will be presented to her on June 5 at the University of Bergen in Norway.

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