Ethical Expansion of Provincializing Narrative: The Historical Voice of Non-Human Agents from the Perspective of Postcolonial "Irony"
Abstract
Since the proposal of the "Anthropocene", the post-humanist view of history has entered a new paradigmatic stage, exerting a profound impact on the traditional progressive narrative and forming a critical tension with dual dimensions. As a core concept, "Irony", on the one hand, reflects the oppressive nature of colonial modernity towards both human and non-human, and on the other hand promotes postcolonial theory to break through the constraints of anthropocentrism. Drawing on the perspective of "Irony" in postcolonial theory, this paper elaborates on the historical evolutionary path of the idea of "Provincializing" from subverting Eurocentric discourse to shaping interspecies ethical relations. While postcolonial perspectives strive to break down universal historical narratives, the derived practice of "provincialized human" incorporates non-human agents into the scope of moral concern, thereby fostering resistance within the discourse of the oppressors. This strategy not only transforms the modern landscape of nation-states and the global ecosystem but also provides symbolic spaces for marginalized groups such as oceans and animals through the multispecies turn, fulfilling the value vision of harmonious coexistence between human and nature in historical writing.
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