This volume of essays on the new field of "minority discourse" marks a significant departure from traditional criticism. While the institutions of Western humanism have often treated minority cultures as supplements, this book emphasizes work that is theoretically centered in the political experiences of minority cultures themselves. Bringing together the writings of an international group of scholars, this collection creates a new paradigm for critical cultural studies, one that accounts for both the similarities and differences in the experiences of minority and Third World cultures. The Nature and Context of Minority Discourse provides a theoretical basis for the movement away from an isolating emphasis on cultural differences toward a shared sense of community.