Bridging Common Grounds: Metaphor, Multitude, and Chicana Third Space Feminism

Abstract

In this article I argue the conceptualization of the multitude as a diffuse network and the attendant archipelagic metaphors in the work of Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri as well as related Autonomous Marxist scholarship belie the vital role of identity and difference in social organizing under Empire or global capitalism. In order to energize these archipelagic metaphors and to flesh out Autonomous Marxist theory and praxis, I suggest this theory take cue from Chicana third space feminism, specifically Gloria Anzaldúa’s metaphor and praxis of “bridging,” which foregrounds the significance of identity and difference in contingently connecting to and moving with others in pursuit of being in common.