Postcolonialism  

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 +“For any [[Long nineteenth century|European during the nineteenth century]] – and I think one can say this almost without qualification – [[Orientalism]] was such a system of truths, [[Truth is a mobile army of metaphors, metonyms, and anthropomorphisms|truths in Nietzsche’s sense of the word]]. It is therefore correct that [[Stereotypes of white people|every European]], in what he could say about the [[Orient]], was consequently a [[racism|racist]], an [[imperialism|imperialist]], and almost totally [[Ethnocentrism|ethnocentric]]. Some of the immediate sting will be taken out of these labels if we recall additionally that human societies, at least the more advanced cultures, have rarely offered the individual anything but imperialism, racism, and ethnocentrism for dealing with "other" cultures.” -- Edward W. Said, ''[[Orientalism (book)|Orientalism]]'' pp. 203-4
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{{Template}} {{Template}}
-'''Postcolonialism''' (also known as '''postcolonial theory''', or spelled with a [[hyphen]]) refers to a set of [[theory|theories]] in [[philosophy]], [[film]] and [[postcolonial literature|literature]] that grapple with the legacy of [[colonialism|colonial rule]]. As a [[literary theory]] or [[critical theory|critical approach]], it deals with literature produced in countries that were once [[colonies]] of other countries, especially the major European colonial powers Britain, France and Spain; in some contexts, it may include also countries still under colonial arrangements. It may also deal with literature written in or by citizens of colonizing countries that takes colonies or their peoples as its subject matter. People from colonized countries, especially the [[British Empire]], came to universities in Britain; their access to education that was then still unavailable in the colonies opened a new criticism, mostly in literature, especially in novels. Postcolonial theory became part of the critical toolbox in the 1970s, and many practitioners take [[Edward Said]]'s book ''[[Orientalism (book)|Orientalism]]'' to be the theory's founding work.+ 
 +'''Postcolonialism''' or '''postcolonial studies''' is the academic study of the cultural legacy of [[colonialism]] and [[imperialism]], focusing on the human consequences of the control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands.
 + 
 +The name ''postcolonialism'' is modeled on [[postmodernism]], with which it shares certain concepts and methods, and may be thought of as a reaction to or departure from colonialism in the same way postmodernism is a reaction to [[modernism]]. The ambiguous term ''colonialism'' may refer either to a system of government or to an [[ideology]] or [[world view]] underlying that system—in general postcolonialism represents an ideological response to colonialist thought, rather than simply describing [[Decolonization|a system that comes after colonialism]]. The term ''postcolonial studies'' may be preferred for this reason.
 + 
 +Postcolonialism encompasses a wide variety of approaches, and theoreticians may not always agree on a common set of definitions. On a simple level, it may seek through [[Anthropology|anthropological]] study to build a better understanding of colonial life from the point of view of the colonized people, based on the assumption that the colonial rulers are [[Unreliable narrator|unreliable narrators]].
 + 
 +On a deeper level, postcolonialism examines the [[Power (social and political)|social and political power]] relationships that sustain colonialism and [[neocolonialism]], including the social, political and cultural [[Narrative|narratives]] surrounding the colonizer and the colonized. This approach may overlap with [[contemporary history]] and [[critical theory]], and may also draw examples from [[history]], [[political science]], [[philosophy]], [[sociology]], [[anthropology]], and [[human geography]].
 + 
 +Sub-disciplines of postcolonial studies examine the effects of colonial rule on the practice of [[Postcolonial feminism|feminism]], [[Postcolonial anarchism|anarchism]], [[postcolonial literature|literature]] and [[Postcolonial theology|Christian thought]].
 +==Literature of postcolonialism==
 +;Foundation works
 +* ''[[Le Procès de la Colonisation française|Le Procès de la colonization française]]'' (French Colonization on Trial) (1924), by [[Nguyen Ai Quoc]]
 +* ''[[Discourse on Colonialism]]'' (1950), by [[Aimé Césaire]]
 +* ''[[Black Skin, White Masks]]'' (1952), by [[Frantz Fanon]]
 +* ''[[The Wretched of the Earth]]'' (1961), by Frantz Fanon
 +* ''[[The Colonizer and the Colonized]]'' (1965), by [[Albert Memmi]]
 +* ''[[Consciencism]]'' (1970), by [[Kwame Nkrumah]]
 +* ''[[Orientalism (book)|Orientalism]]'' (1978), by [[Edward Said]]
 +* ''[[Can the Subaltern Speak?]]'' (1988), by [[Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak]]
 + 
 +==Postcolonial works of fiction==
 +;Contemporary Authors of Postcolonial Fiction
 +* [[Ben Okri]]
 +* [[Arundhati Roy]]
 +* [[Salman Rushdie]]
 + 
==See also== ==See also==
 +* ''[[Burn!]]'' (1969), directed by Gillo Pontecorvo
 +* [[Cultural cringe]]
 +* [[Critical theory]]
 +* [[Cross-culturalism]]
 +* ''[[The Dogs of War (film)|The Dogs of War]]'' (1980), directed by John Irvin
 +* [[Ethnology]]
 +* ''[[An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's "Heart of Darkness"]]'' (1975), by [[Chinua Achebe]]
 +* [[Inversion in postcolonial theory]]
 +* [[Linguistic imperialism]]
 +* [[Nation-building]]
 +* [[Postcolonial anarchism]]
 +* [[Postcolonial feminism]]
 +* [[Postcolonial literature]]
 +* [[Postcolonial theology]]
 +* [[Post-Communism]]
 +* [[Subaltern (postcolonialism)|Subaltern]]
-*[[Inversion in postcolonial theory]] 
-*[[Cultural cringe|Cultural Alienation]] 
-*[[Cultural cringe]] 
-*[[Ethnology]] 
-*[[Cross-culturalism]] 
-*[[Post-Communism]] 
-*[[Nation-building]] 
-*[[Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak]] 
-*[[Homi K. Bhabha]] 
-*[[Ranajit Guha]] ''Subaltern Studies'' 
-*[[Robert J.C. Young]] 
-*[[Alamgir Hashmi]] ''Commonwealth Literature: An Essay Towards the Re-definition of a Popular/Counter Culture'' 
-*[[Chinua Achebe]]'s ''[[An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's "Heart of Darkness"]]'' 
-*[[Ranjit Hoskote]] 
-*[[Postcolonial feminism]] 
-*[[Post-colonial anarchism]] 
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“For any European during the nineteenth century – and I think one can say this almost without qualification – Orientalism was such a system of truths, truths in Nietzsche’s sense of the word. It is therefore correct that every European, in what he could say about the Orient, was consequently a racist, an imperialist, and almost totally ethnocentric. Some of the immediate sting will be taken out of these labels if we recall additionally that human societies, at least the more advanced cultures, have rarely offered the individual anything but imperialism, racism, and ethnocentrism for dealing with "other" cultures.” -- Edward W. Said, Orientalism pp. 203-4

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Postcolonialism or postcolonial studies is the academic study of the cultural legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the human consequences of the control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands.

The name postcolonialism is modeled on postmodernism, with which it shares certain concepts and methods, and may be thought of as a reaction to or departure from colonialism in the same way postmodernism is a reaction to modernism. The ambiguous term colonialism may refer either to a system of government or to an ideology or world view underlying that system—in general postcolonialism represents an ideological response to colonialist thought, rather than simply describing a system that comes after colonialism. The term postcolonial studies may be preferred for this reason.

Postcolonialism encompasses a wide variety of approaches, and theoreticians may not always agree on a common set of definitions. On a simple level, it may seek through anthropological study to build a better understanding of colonial life from the point of view of the colonized people, based on the assumption that the colonial rulers are unreliable narrators.

On a deeper level, postcolonialism examines the social and political power relationships that sustain colonialism and neocolonialism, including the social, political and cultural narratives surrounding the colonizer and the colonized. This approach may overlap with contemporary history and critical theory, and may also draw examples from history, political science, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, and human geography.

Sub-disciplines of postcolonial studies examine the effects of colonial rule on the practice of feminism, anarchism, literature and Christian thought.

[edit]

Literature of postcolonialism

Foundation works
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Postcolonial works of fiction

Contemporary Authors of Postcolonial Fiction
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See also


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