Decentring the Human? Towards a Post-Anthropocentric Standpoint Theory
Decentring the Human? Towards a Post-Anthropocentric Standpoint Theory

Summary/Abstract: Drawing on recent developments in virology and the work of Chicana queer-feminist Gloria Anzaldúa, this article explores the possibility of shifting from anthropocentric epistemologies (including feminist standpoint theories) into more expansive, decentralized modes of knowledge production which are neither entirely human-centered nor fully post-human. We explore this shift through several parts: (1) A brief overview of recent critiques of anthropocentrism and the limitations in mainstream feminist standpoint theory’s ability to overcome this anthropocentrism; (2) an exploration of recent developments in virology’s promising alternatives to anthropocentrism’s narrow definition of the human; and (3) an analysis of Anzaldúa’s innovative nepantlera subjectivity and onto-epistemology as seen in her theory of conocimiento. Because scholars have yet to examine the post-anthropocentric (and posthumanist) dimensions of Anzaldúa’s thought, but instead generally categorize her epistemology as an ethnic-specific feminist standpoint theory, her work offers a unique point of entry into these investigations.

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