Deconstructing the universal subject: progress and the authors of the future in selected works by Blaženka Despot

Maskalan, Ana (2026) Deconstructing the universal subject: progress and the authors of the future in selected works by Blaženka Despot. Prilozi za istraživanje hrvatske filozofske baštine, 52 (1). pp. 99-128. ISSN 0350-2791 (Print), 1847-4489 (Online)

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Abstract

IN ENGLISH: This paper examines the notion of the “authorship of the future” in the philosophy of Blaženka Despot within the context of the crisis of the modern idea of progress and its subject. Starting from Despot’s critique of the teleological conceptions of history and the privileged agents of social change, the paper shows that she relocates the concept of progress from the sphere of historical necessity to that of an open, politically contingent social practice. Within the tradition of the Praxis School, Despot develops a conception of the revolutionary subject that does not arise automatically from an objective class position but from the development of self-consciousness, education, and the capacity to reflect upon concrete historical relations. Particular attention is devoted to her feminist critique of Marxist universalism, which reveals that the presumed subject of emancipation is gendered and that the hierarchical structure of emancipatory theories systematically produces the invisibility of women as historical actors. The paper argues that Despot thereby not only expands the subject of social change but also reconsiders the very concept of historical authorship and its philosophical presuppositions. -------------- IN CROATIAN: Članak razmatra pojam »autorstva budućnosti« u filozofiji Blaženke Despot u kontekstu krize moderne ideje progresa i njezina subjekta. Polazeći od Despotine kritike teleoloških koncepcija povijesti i privilegiranih nositelja društvene promjene, pokazuje se da ona pojam progresa premješta iz sfere povijesne nužnosti u područje politički otvorene i kontingentne društvene prakse. U okviru tradicije filozofije prakse Despot razvija shvaćanje revolucionarnog subjekta koji ne proizlazi automatski iz objektivnog klasnog položaja, nego iz razvoja samosvijesti, obrazovanja i sposobnosti refleksije konkretnih povijesnih odnosa. Posebna pozornost posvećena je njezinoj feminističkoj kritici marksističkog univerzalizma, u kojoj pokazuje da je pretpostavljeni subjekt emancipacije rodno obilježen te da hijerarhijska struktura emancipacijskih teorija sustavno proizvodi nevidljivost žena kao povijesnih aktera. Rad nastoji pokazati da Despot time ne samo proširuje subjekt društvene promjene nego i preispituje sam pojam povijesnog autorstva i njegove pretpostavke.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Language: English. - Title in Croatian: Dekonstrukcija univerzalnog subjekta: progres i autori budućnosti u odabranim radovima Blaženke Despot.
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Blaženka Despot, progress, revolutionary subject, Praxis philosophy, Marxist feminism, women’s question, authorship of the future (Blaženka Despot, progres, revolucionarni subjekt, filozofija prakse, marksistički feminizam, žensko pitanje, autorstvo budućnosti)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > B Philosophy (General)
Depositing User:	Karolina
Date Deposited:	01 Sep 2026 12:23
Last Modified:	01 Sep 2026 12:23
URI:	http://idiprints.knjiznica.idi.hr/id/eprint/1304

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