ABSTRACT
Cervantistas, concretely, have as primary interlocutors their counterparts in Spain, where the resistance to, or lack of interest in, "theory" has been particularly palpable. Many varieties of postmodernist ideology display a kind of artsy pessimism, an attitude of playful despair or cultural helplessness in the face of the collapse of so many of the "master narratives" of modernity, particularly those of the left. These ideologies translate concretely into a kind of skeptical, "do-nothing" stance, given that reality has shown itself to be so intractable. The very celebration of difference, a key tenet of much postmodernist social theory, can unwittingly play into the hands of those who would like to continue exercising hegemony over the variety of groups in question. Politics can be redefined into a harmless politics of style and personal identity that leaves relations of domination intact and unchallenged.
