The discipline of the humanities - like the idea of "culture "- is a byproduct of the formation of the nation-state in the nineteenth-century West. Its decline began with the fundamental skepticism toward the idea of totality, authority, and centrality, which was replaced fairly rapidly by the ideology of difference, especially as the old colonies began to gain "independence." What has gradually emerged from this initially liberating movement, how­ever, is social and intellectual fragmentation. Socially, it coincided with the neo-liberal development. Intellectually and institutionally, it has en­couraged and has been encouraged by the emphasis on specialization and theorization." Yet, the way todays scholars and writers of different "kinds (in gender, ethnicity, class, and discipline) have ceased to talk together, discuss together, or even disagree together is quite alarm­ing - especially now that the environmental deterioration demands that the planet be understood and experienced as a commonality that belongs to every single being on earth. The humanities can now seize this demoral­ized moment and reorganize itself around the planet and the universe, the ultimate totality as the central imaginary. Environmental sustenance cannot be considered without rethinking social totality. The ever widening gap between the rich and the poor both among and within nations is a part of the ecological deterioration. This time, in other words, the need for a radical reformation is not merely ethical or political, but a necessity for everyone. Far from being vulnerable to the assault by totalitarianism, this transformation is integrated with singularities and connectives. Unlike the nation-state, the planet (and the universe) is an inspiring commonality on which writers, scholars, and scientists can work together in a truly transdisciplinary endeavor.

Gramma: Journal of Theory and Criticism, Vol 13 (2005): Comparative Literature & Global Studies