Nationalism and the Postcolonial: from Edward Said’s Orientalism to Graham Huggan’s Postcolonial Exotic

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
Jarosław Kujath
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Postcolonial Theory ◽  
Postcolonial Studies ◽  
World Order ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
Edward Said ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Analytical Potential ◽  
Theoretical Issues ◽  
Economics And Politics

As interest in the field of postcolonial studies has grown in recent decades, the theoretical issues with which it is concerned have been applied to an increasing number of areas. As a branch of literary theory, it has provided one of the most important critical platforms for modern theorists and writers who attempt to address issues of cultural identity. However, the analytical potential of postcolonial theory has not gone unnoticed in other academic disciplines. In particular, research into global economics and politics has recognised its relevance to an understanding of the balance of world order and its political dynamics. As was earlier suggested, historians have also demonstrated an increased interest in the area of postcolonialism, particularly in terms of the challenge that it offers to received models of history.Therefore, the aim of this paper is to examine the path along which postcolonial studies has travelled to recognise the differences between what used to be pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial, as Ashcroft et al would name it. The paper will discuss the main issues as postulated by the proponents of postcolonialism starting from Edward Said and finishing off with Graham Huggan. Particular attention will be paid to the notion of nationalism and how it provided the fuel to the subaltern (Spivak’s term) to make the colonial the post-colonial, that is, how to construct a new (national) identity in the former colonised.Key terms: postcolonial, nationalism, Edward Said, Graham Huggan

Nationalism and the Postcolonial: from Edward Said’s Orientalism to Graham Huggan’s Postcolonial Exotic

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
Jarosław Kujath
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Postcolonial Theory ◽  
Postcolonial Studies ◽  
World Order ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
Edward Said ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Analytical Potential ◽  
Theoretical Issues ◽  
Economics And Politics

As interest in the field of postcolonial studies has grown in recent decades, the theoretical issues with which it is concerned have been applied to an increasing number of areas. As a branch of literary theory, it has provided one of the most important critical platforms for modern theorists and writers who attempt to address issues of cultural identity. However, the analytical potential of postcolonial theory has not gone unnoticed in other academic disciplines. In particular, research into global economics and politics has recognised its relevance to an understanding of the balance of world order and its political dynamics. As was earlier suggested, historians have also demonstrated an increased interest in the area of postcolonialism, particularly in terms of the challenge that it offers to received models of history.Therefore, the aim of this paper is to examine the path along which postcolonial studies has travelled to recognise the differences between what used to be pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial, as Ashcroft et al would name it. The paper will discuss the main issues as postulated by the proponents of postcolonialism starting from Edward Said and finishing off with Graham Huggan. Particular attention will be paid to the notion of nationalism and how it provided the fuel to the subaltern (Spivak’s term) to make the colonial the post-colonial, that is, how to construct a new (national) identity in the former colonised.Key terms: postcolonial, nationalism, Edward Said, Graham Huggan

On the specfics of postcolonial research in the conetmporary Ukrainian literary studies

2019 ◽  
pp. 446-461
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Baydalova
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Postcolonial Theory ◽  
Postcolonial Studies ◽  
Culture Studies ◽  
Self Presentation ◽  
Science Culture ◽  
The Past ◽  
Modus Vivendi ◽  
Ambivalent Attitude

The postcolonial studies have been under discussion in the Ukrainian historiography, social science, culture studies and literary criticism since 1990 years. They have originated from American, European, and Australian academic studies and became more and more popular in modern Ukrainian culture recently. The nation and the nationalism, Orientalism, multicultural and ambivalent individuality self-presentation, the search of cultural identity, the problem of ambivalent attitude to the past are in the paradigm of postcolonial studies. The problems of national identity, the totalitarian past, the interactions with neighboring countries especially Russia and Poland, the instable Ukrainian society’s condition are analyzed under the postcolonial ideas in the Ukrainian intellectual discourse. The postcolonial theory has become the main interpretative strategy of the Ukrainian researchers lately. Nevertheless, there is no unconditional modus vivendi in the Ukrainian academia about postcolonial conceptions, strategies and principles. One of the most important unsolved issues is the question of correlation of postcolonial and postmodern components of the Ukrainian national literature. The inclusion of the studies of trauma and anticolonial and posttotalitarian discourses into the framework of the postcolonial studies is the most distinguishing feature of postcolonial studies in the Ukraine.

Postcolonial Approaches to the Study of African Politics

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace Adeniyi Ogunyankin
Keyword(s):  
Urban Studies ◽  
Postcolonial Theory ◽  
Postcolonial Studies ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
Homi Bhabha ◽  
Women And Gender Studies ◽  
Limited Applicability ◽  
Gayatri Spivak ◽  
And Gender

Postcolonial theory has been embraced and critiqued by various scholars since the 1980s. Central to the field of postcolonial studies is the examination of colonial episteme and discourse, European racism, and imperial dominance. Broadly, postcolonialism analyzes the effects, and enduring legacies, of colonialism and disavows Eurocentric master-narratives. Postcolonial ideas have been significant to several academic disciplines, largely those in the humanities and social sciences, such as cultural and literary studies, anthropology, political science, history, development studies, geography, urban studies, and gender and sexuality studies. The key scholars that are connected to postcolonial theory, Edward Said, Homi Bhabha, and Gayatri Spivak, have been critiqued for grounding their work in the Western theories of postmodernism and poststructuralism. Given the predominant association of these three scholars to postcolonial theory, Africanists have argued that postcolonial theory is dismissive of African theorizing. Moreover, some scholars have noted that Africanists have hesitated to use postcolonial theory because it is too discursive and has limited applicability to material reality. As such, the relevancy of postcolonial theory to Africa has been a repetitive question for decades. Despite this line of questioning, some scholars have posited that there are African thinkers and activists who are intellectual antecedents to the postcolonial thought that emerged in the 1980s and 1990s. Additionally, other Africanist scholars have engaged with the colonial discursive construction of African subjectivities and societies as inferior. These engagements have been particularly salient in women and gender studies, urban studies and studies of identity and global belonging.

scholarly journals Postcolonial Hermeneutics: Concepts and Contribution to Understanding Socio-Religious Problems in Southeast Asia

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Novita Dewi
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Postcolonial Theory ◽  
Postcolonial Studies ◽  
Postcolonial Literature ◽  
Edward Said ◽  
Religious Conflicts ◽  
Western Discourse ◽  
Religious Problems ◽  
Shed Light

Scrutiny of unequal power-relations between the “East” and the “West” in politics, culture, economy, and various aspects of life is the concern of postcolonial studies. Foucault's concept of power is central in postcolonial theory with which Edward Said is celebrated for his dismantling of Orientalist views. Postcolonial literature, likewise, has contributed to the growth and development of postcolonial criticism. The first objective of this article is to give a brief overview of different terms attached to the word “postcolonial”, i.e. postcolonial literary criticism, postcolonial literature and postcolonial theory, since these terms enrich one another theoretically. The second objective is to discuss postcolonial hermeneutics as a reading tool to examine various mundane practices in Southeast Asian postcolonial society. The purpose is to achieve a balanced, reciprocal exchange of perspectives while providing legitimacy for alternative interpretations to the hegemony shown in “Western” discourse. Citing traditional ways of conflict resolution and eco-friendly land management as examples, this article concludes that postcolonial reading may shed light on how socio-religious conflicts, hybrid experiences of faiths, and other social practices operate and get their respective meanings in postcolonial countries across Southeast Asia.

scholarly journals Postcolonial Hermeneutics: Concepts and Contribution to Understanding Socio-Religious Problems in Southeast Asia

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
Novita Dewi
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Literary Criticism ◽  
Postcolonial Theory ◽  
Postcolonial Studies ◽  
Postcolonial Literature ◽  
Edward Said ◽  
Religious Conflicts ◽  
Western Discourse ◽  
Religious Problems ◽  
Shed Light

Scrutiny of unequal power-relations between the “East” and the “West” in politics, culture, economy, and various aspects of life is the concern of postcolonial studies. Foucault's concept of power is central in postcolonial theory with which Edward Said is celebrated for his dismantling of Orientalist views. Postcolonial literature, likewise, has contributed to the growth and development of postcolonial criticism. The first objective of this article is to give a brief overview of different terms attached to the word “postcolonial”, i.e. postcolonial literary criticism, postcolonial literature and postcolonial theory, since these terms enrich one another theoretically. The second objective is to discuss postcolonial hermeneutics as a reading tool to examine various mundane practices in Southeast Asian postcolonial society. The purpose is to achieve a balanced, reciprocal exchange of perspectives while providing legitimacy for alternative interpretations to the hegemony shown in “Western” discourse. Citing traditional ways of conflict resolution and eco-friendly land management as examples, this article concludes that postcolonial reading may shed light on how socio-religious conflicts, hybrid experiences of faiths, and other social practices operate and get their respective meanings in postcolonial countries across Southeast Asia.

scholarly journals Postcolonial studies and post-Soviet societies: The possibilities and the limitations of their intersection

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 458-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milan Subotic
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
Postcolonial Theory ◽  
Postcolonial Studies ◽  
Short Review ◽  
Civilizing Mission ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Eastern European Countries ◽  
Historical Developments

Starting with a short review of the postcolonial studies? origins, this paper considers the question of their application in the study of history and contemporary state of the post-Soviet societies. Aspirations of the leading theorists of postcolonial studies not to restrict their field of research on the relation of imperial metropoles (First World) and its (post)colonial periphery (Third World) have not met with the acceptance in post-Soviet societies? academia. With the exception of the famous debates on ?the Balkans? that are not the subject of this paper, the paradigm of post-colonialism is rarely used in the interpretation of past and present of the former socialist states (Second World). Rejecting the thesis of their own (post)colonial status in most of Eastern European countries is usually based on a rejection of the assumption of the Soviet-style communism?s ?civilizing mission?. From the same perspective, the Soviet Union is not considered a colonial metropole, but an occupying force, and the epoch of socialism is interpreted as externally imposed breach of the historical developments based on the European model. On the other hand, the concept of these countries? transition opens up the issue of their (post)colonial status in relation to ?Europe? as the center of economic, political and cultural power. Therefore, the postcolonial critique of post-Soviet societies is more often focused on the thematisation of neo-imperial domination and neo-colonial dependency phenomena, than on the explanation of their socialist past. The author?s opinion is that it doesn?t mean that a number of concepts of postcolonial theory - such as ?internal colonialism? - cannot be productively used to a fuller understanding of the Soviet past, nor that in the interpretation of post-Soviet realities? ?hybrid forms? the postcolonial studies cannot be of use.

scholarly journals Indigenous Identity through Hybridity and Humor: A Postcolonial Reading of Robert Merritt’s The Cake Man

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (7) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Parvaneh Ganjtalab Shad
Keyword(s):  
Focal Point ◽  
Postcolonial Studies ◽  
Edward Said ◽  
Colonial Discourse ◽  
Indigenous Identity ◽  
Australian Society ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Homi Bhabha ◽  
Gayatri Spivak ◽  
Central Argument

The major thrust in this research has been in the area of postcolonial studies. As one their primary missions, post-colonial works of art relate stories as seen by the oppressed and the colonized. Beginning with Edward Said’s Orientalism, postcolonial figures as diverse as Franz Fanon, Gayatri Spivak, and Homi Bhabha emerged and each targeted an aspect of postcolonial conditions. The present article was undertaken to trace postcolonial elements of “colonial negotiations,” and “hybridity” in an Aboriginal play by Robert Merritt entitled The Cake Man. The central argument of this article is that in its anticolonial stance, this play discusses issues of Aboriginal race and identity. To realize this argument, the play is studies with the background of Edward Said and Homi K. Bhabha’s theories. While these two figures are the leading theoreticians of the research, Aboriginal anticolonial strategies, like Aboriginal humor and figurative emasculation, are also pointed out. In fact, the novelty of the study is in its amalgamation of Western theories and Aboiginal strategies. All through the play, history as seen by the oppressed becomes the focal point, making it eligible to be called postcolonial works. Merritt’s The Cake Man, which is a well-known example of forced conversion, contains a very prominent manifestation of Said and Bhabha’s colonial negotiations. In addition, by creating an anticolonial character in the play, Merritt highlights and criticizes colonial Christianity, colonial otherization, and figurative emasculation of Aboriginal men in Australian society. All these issues, as the play leads the audience to believe, contribute to the realization that colonial discourse has the policy of obliterating Aboriginal traditions.

scholarly journals Postcolonial Gothic Elements in Joaquin’s The Woman Who Had Two Navels

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 22-33
Author(s):  
Mohammad Hossein Abedi Valoojerdi
Keyword(s):  
New World ◽  
Postcolonial Theory ◽  
World Order ◽  
Edward Said ◽  
The Novel ◽  
20Th Century Literature ◽  
New World Order ◽  
Unique Style ◽  
Style Of Writing ◽  
Century Literature

Nick Joaquin (Nicomedes Márquez Joaquín, (1917-2004) is known for his unique style of writing, tropical Gothic, and applying gothic elements in his stories and novels. This paper examines his first novel The Woman Who Had Two Navels through the lens of postcolonial theory. The paper also investigates gothic narratives in his novel by applying David Punter’s literary-historical approach. Punter (2000), in his book Postcolonial Imaginings: Fictions of a New World Order, examines the metamorphoses of the Gothic as a genre in some selected novels and poems. The book depicts new manifestations of the Gothic during 20th century literature. This paper attempts to investigate how the elements of postcolonial Gothic as discussed by Punter are manifested in Joaquin’s novel. In doing so, the contrapuntal method of reading, introduced by Edward Said (1993), is also applied to explore the hidden parts of history in the novel.

scholarly journals LITERACY AND ORALITY: BETWEEN ABROGATION AND APPROPRIATION IN NGUGI WA THIONG’O’S THE RIVER BETWEEN

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bawa Kammampoal
Keyword(s):  
Oral Tradition ◽  
English Language ◽  
Postcolonial Theory ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Postcolonial Studies ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Modes Of Representation ◽  
African Worldview ◽  
Postcolonial Discourse ◽  
Canonical Texts

Colonizers have used language as an instrument of socio-political and economic control during colonisation. This has enabled them in the process to establish power hierarchy based mostly on linguistic superiority by undermining native tongues. In recent years, theories of postcolonial discourses hold the view that colonialism has fundamentally affected modes of representation of colonised spaces. Through questioning and travestying western hegemonic discourses, writers from once colonised spaces have challenged and subverted the hegemonic power of the colonial language by inserting different strategies into their own language to suit socio-cultural contexts. For postcolonial literary artists, this consists in taking the language of the former imperial power, to unlearn its worldview and re-place it in a discourse fully adapted to ones’ own space and subsequently, produce new modes of representation in countering colonial canonical texts. In this sense, postcolonial discourse is crystallised by and replete with ‘abrogation’ and ‘appropriation’ in the canon of postcolonial studies. This suggests the writer’s use of linguistic structure of the borrowed language, the manipulation of its syntactical structure as well as its semantics, to convey stance against the colonizer. In its pronouncement, an effort is made to advocate for a critical rethinking of the legacies of colonial domination as well as its accompanying epistemologies. Kenyan novelist Ngugi wa Thiong’o uses elements of oral tradition (orality) or better indigenous poetics in his fictional works, mostly The River Between, to express the meanings, feelings and experiences of his Gikuyu people. Thus, orality as a means of communication and carrier of the culture of those people to whom it is a mother tongue, has social, cultural, and political aesthetic roles to play in the African worldview. To achieve this, Ngugi employs historically significant events, moments and stylistic features which are characteristics of oral tradition to emphasise important key concepts that help to reconstruct positive moral values in conflict with foreign ones in a fragmented Kenyan society. Though many controversies surround Ngugi’s writing and its medium of reception, this paper contends that his fictions written in his mother tongue or in English and/or translated into English, are part and parcel of his endeavour to appropriate the literary enterprise not only as a weapon of active physical revolt and textual indignation but also as against (post)colonial pathologies. Ngugi refashions the colonial English language to show that his country, Kenya, is not a mere passive entity in tolerating colonial legacies; but challenges western hegemonic power dimensions, dismantles them to the point of bringing them under its own terms and conditions. The conceptual frameworks that underpin the study are New historicism (New Culturalism) and postcolonial theory. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0728/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

COMPARING GOPINATH MOHANTY WITH MULK RAJ ANANDFROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF RESISTANCE LITERATURE

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (23) ◽  
Author(s):  
Khagendra Sethi ◽  
Tithi Ray
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Significant Contribution ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Comprehensive Understanding ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Colonial India ◽  
Resistance Literature ◽  
Political Exclusion

This article aims at a comparative study of GopinathMohanty with Mulk Raj Anand. The article will analyse and examine the works of both the writers from the perspective of Resistance literature. Both of them have significant contribution to Dalit literature. These two writers are non-dalits. But they have comprehensive understanding on the plight of these miserable sections who are on the margin. They have tried their best to fight for their rights. Along with that they have created for them a distinct cultural identity by dismantling their colonial identity. They have raised voice against the ethical issues like bonded labour, economical exploitation, socio-political exclusion, land displacement and sexual harassment which were immanent in dalit’s life in colonial and post-colonial India.

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