A Metropolitan History of the Dutch Empire

This book analyses popular imperial culture in the Netherlands around the turn of the twentieth century. Despite the prominent role that the Dutch empire played in many (sometimes unexpected) aspects of civil society, and its significance in mobilising citizens to participate in causes both directly and indirectly related to the overseas colonies, most people seem to have remained indifferent towards imperial affairs. How, then, barring a few jingoist outbursts during the Aceh and Boer Wars, could the empire be simultaneously present and absent in metropolitan life? Drawing upon the works of scholars from fields as diverse as postcolonial studies and Habsburg imperialism, A Metropolitan History of the Dutch Empire argues that indifference was not an anomaly in the face of an all-permeating imperial culture, but rather the logical consequence of an imperial ideology that treated ‘the metropole’ and ‘the colony’ as entirely separate entities. The various groups and individuals who advocated for imperial or anti-imperial causes – such as missionaries, former colonials, Indonesian students, and boy scouts – had little unmediated contact with one another, and maintained their own distinctive modes of expression. They were all, however, part of what this book terms a ‘fragmented empire’, connected by a Dutch imperial ideology that was common to all of them, and whose central tenet – namely, that the colonies had no bearing on the mother country – they never questioned. What we should not do, the author concludes, is assume that the metropolitan invisibility of colonial culture rendered it powerless.

Greek Migrant Literature in the Early Roman Empire

This article argues that the concept of migrant literature, developed in postcolonial studies, is a useful tool for analysing Greek literature of the Early Roman Empire (27 BC-AD 68). The city of Rome attracted huge numbers of migrants from across the Mediterranean. Among them were many writers from Hellenized provinces like Egypt, Syria and Asia, who wrote in Greek. Leaving their native regions and travelling to Rome, they moved between cultures, responding in Greek to the new world order. Early imperial Greek writers include Strabo of Amasia, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Nicolaus of Damascus, Timagenes of Alexandria, Crinagoras of Mytilene, Philo of Alexandria and Paul of Tarsus. What connects these authors of very different origins, styles, beliefs, and literary genres is migrancy. They are migrant writers whose works are characterized by in-betweenness, ambivalence and polyphony.

Travel and Imperialist Nostalgia in Ernest Hemingway’s Green Hills of Africa

This paper examines the politics of travel and imperialist nostalgia in Ernest Hemingway’s memoir Green Hills of Africa. Informed by recent theoretical contributions to travel and postcolonial studies, this paper investigates ways in which the representation of travel and nostalgia in this memoir speaks to the colonial and imperialist rhetoric. Unlike previous studies, this paper suggests that the travels and nostalgia of Hemingway for Green Hills of Africa reflect certain ideological and historical determinants of the interwar politics that dominated modern American literature. While Hemingway seems to distance himself from the rhetoric of the empire, his reflections on travelling in Africa and his nostalgia for it are arguably entangled by it. This paper demonstrates that Hemingway’s narrative extends a dichotomy between the East and West constructed by 19th century (American) orientalist travel writers and critiqued by Edward Said.

Historia, problematyka i związki studiów postkolonialnych z badaniami kultury popularnej

The article depicts the connectivity of popular culture studies in the field of cultural studies with issues of postcolonial studies. The aim of the work is to answer the question about a possibility to transplant Western cultural studies research to postcolonial popular culture analysis and interpretation. The study begins with a brief reconstruction of the history of pop culture research in the scope of postcolonial methodology — the most important works, conferences, and thematic issues initiating an interest in a research field new to postcolonialism around the 1990s and at the beginning of the following millennium. In the next part of the article, the author points out two main definitions of popular culture (“the popular”) in the scope of indicated optics — by Stuart Hall and John Fiske; the author also considers terminological issues with “the popular” and its non-existent equivalent in Polish. An ambiguous movement written in popular culture was considered as its most important feature (as Hall and Fiske claimed) — at the same time, a dominant system is contained (incorporation) and meets with resistance of people who revolt by the means of the system itself (exportation). Nonetheless, the author shows why believing in the possibility of resistance can be an illusion. Next, the author comments on the stand of Kwame Anthony Appiah, who problematized the relation of postcolonialism and pop culture. The analysis of connections between these two phenomena is followed by a few examples of intertextuality in Alain Mabanckou’s novels.

Decolonising the Mind of the Antipodean Author: Gothic Tropes and Postcolonial Discourse in Peter Carey’s My Life as a Fake

This article analyses Peter Carey’s novel My Life as a Fake (2003) through the lens of genre fiction, focusing on how the Gothic mode combines with key concepts in postcolonial studies. Intertextual references to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus (1818) and analogies with Stephen King’s The Dark Half (1990) and “The Importance of Being Bachman” (1996) are investigated to contextualise Carey’s postcolonial Gothic. Furthermore, taking a cue from Frantz Fanon and Oswaldo de Andrade’s theoretical studies, I argue that the main characters of this novel display attitudes that allegorically reflect the stages through which the national literature of a former settler colony is shaped.

Un processus postcolonial : la genèse de la domination kényane dans les courses de fond vue par la presse sportive spécialisée française

FR. Les médias se font régulièrement l’échos des exploits, sinon des dérives, des athlètes kényan·e·s qui dominent les épreuves de course de fond les plus prestigieuses à travers le monde. Désormais coutumière de cette hégémonie, la presse sportive française commence à l’interroger dès les années 1960, tandis que l’athlétisme est-africain s’affirme au plus haut niveau international, manifestant sa volonté de comprendre et d’expliquer le « phénomène kényan ». L’objet de cet article est de montrer que l’éclosion au plus haut niveau international de l’athlétisme kényan dans la période post-coloniale est appréhendée par les journalistes français selon une rhétorique s’insérant dans un processus postcolonial. S’inscrivant dans le champ des postcolonial studies, cette étude vise à identifier et expliquer les transformations des modalités discursives selon lesquelles les journalistes français couvrent les succès kényans. Bien que le Kenya soit une ancienne colonie britannique, les textes étudiés reflétent la domination culturelle caractéristique de la période coloniale que les journalistes opposent à la domination sportive des athlètes kényan·e·s. Trois revues spécialisées dans l’athlétisme paraissant dans les années 1960, choisies tant par leur réputation que par l’éclectisme de leurs lignes éditoriales, sont analysées : l’Athlétisme, organe de presse officiel de la Fédération française d’athlétisme, Le Miroir de l’athlétisme, revue déclinée du journal Miroir sprint, proche du parti communiste français, et l’Équipe athlétisme magazine, associée au journal l’Équipe. Portant sur l’ensemble du discours, tant son contenu que ses stratégies énonciatives, l’analyse effectuée met en avant le recours par les journalistes français aux modèles rhétoriques utilisés par leurs homologues britanniques à la fin de la période coloniale. Identifiés par John Bale, ces modèles rhétoriques (la surveillance, l’appropriation, la négation et l’idéalisation) s’affirment progressivement à travers quatre étapes chronologiques de 1960 à 2000. La France n’ayant jamais colonisé le Kenya, cette démarche propose donc d’élargir la question postcoloniale aux interactions culturelles entre des pays dépourvus de liens coloniaux. *** EN. Media regularly report on the high performances, as well as the missteps, of Kenyan athletes occupying top places in the most prestigious international long-distance running competitions. If the French sports press has become accustomed to this podium hegemony, a desire to understand and explain the “Kenyan phenomenon” arose in the 1960’s, when East African athletics was gradually asserting itself at the highest levels of competition. The article aims to demonstrate that the narrative developed by French journalists on Kenyan athletics in the decades following African independences is part of rhetorical processes intertwined with postcolonial mechanisms. Embedded in the field of postcolonial studies, the research aims to identify and explain the evolution of discursive modalities used by French journalists to cover Kenyan sporting successes. Despite Kenya being a former British colony, specific characteristics appear in the analyzed text corpus and highlight how French journalists perpetuate cultural domination mechanisms, which sit in contrast with the sporting preeminence of Kenyan athletes. Three magazines published in the 1960s and specialized in the field of athletics were selected for the research, based on their reputation and the eclecticism of their editorial lines: L'Athlétisme, published by the French Athletics Federation ; Le Miroir de l'athlétisme, a magazine based on the Miroir sprint, known to be close to the French Communist Party ; and l'Équipe athlétisme magazine, a spin-off edition from the newspaper l'Équipe. The analysis of the discourse, from both content and enunciative strategies perspectives, highlights how French journalists resort to rhetorical models used by their British counterparts during the same period. Identified by John Bale, the models include surveillance, appropriation, negation and idealization, and appear chronologically in the press in four stages, from 1960 to 2000. Since Kenya was never under French colonial rule, the article suggests to broaden the postcolonial discussion to cultural interactions between countries without colonial ties. *** PT. Os meios de comunicação informam regularmente sobre as façanhas, senão os desvios, dos atletas quenianos que dominam os eventos de corrida de longa distância de maior prestígio em todo o mundo. Já habituada a esta hegemonia, a imprensa desportiva francesa passou a questioná-la nos anos 1960, enquanto o atletismo da África Oriental se afirmava ao mais alto nível internacional, demonstrando o seu desejo de compreender e explicar o “fenômeno queniano”. O objetivo deste artigo é mostrar que a emergência do atletismo queniano no mais alto nível internacional no período pós-colonial é entendida pelos jornalistas franceses como uma parte retórica de um processo pós-colonial. Inserido no campo dos estudos pós-coloniais, este estudo visa identificar e explicar as transformações das modalidades discursivas segundo as quais os jornalistas franceses cobrem os sucessos quenianos. Embora o Quênia seja uma ex-colônia britânica, os textos estudados refletem a dominação cultural característica do período colonial que os jornalistas opõem à dominação esportiva dos atletas quenianos. Três revistas especializadas em atletismo surgidas na década de 1960, escolhidas tanto por sua reputação quanto pelo ecletismo de suas linhas editoriais, são analisadas: Athletics, órgão oficial de imprensa da Federação Francesa de Atletismo, Le Miroir de athletics, resenha da revista Miroir sprint, próxima ao Partido Comunista Francês, e a revista de atletismo Équipe, associada ao jornal L'Équipe. Abrangendo todo o discurso, tanto o seu conteúdo como as suas estratégias enunciativas, a análise realizada destaca a utilização pelos jornalistas franceses dos modelos retóricos utilizados pelos seus congêneres britânicos no final do período colonial. Identificados por John Bale, esses modelos retóricos (vigilância, apropriação, negação e idealização) afirmam-se gradativamente por meio de quatro estágios cronológicos de 1960 a 2000. Como a França nunca colonizou o Quênia, esta abordagem propõe, portanto, estender a questão pós-colonial às interações culturais entre países desprovidos de laços coloniais. ***

Book Review: Leela Gandhi, Postcolonial Theory: A Critical Introduction, Second Edition. New York: Columbia University Press, 2019.

The second edition of Leela Gandhi’s Postcolonial Theory: A Critical Introduction (2019) updates the 1998 first edition. Routledge Publishers hailed the first edition as “a ground-breaking critical introduction to the burgeoning field of postcolonial studies”. John Hawkes Professor of Humanities and English at Brown University since 2014, Leela Gandhi has been researching the cultural history of the Indo-British colonial encounter. As a renowned scholar on transnational literatures, postcolonial theory and ethics, she is the founding co-editor of the journal Postcolonial Studies and editorial board member of Postcolonial Text. Her position as director of the Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on Women and her research on intellectual history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are part of her varied and important contributions.

Ludowość utracona? Strategie instytucjonalizacji sztuki ludowej w Szkole Przemysłu Drzewnego w Zakopanem

Abstrakt: W jakim stopniu funkcjonujące dzisiaj wyobrażenie „góralszczyzny” odpowiada tradycyjnej twórczości Podhala sprzed prób jej instytucjonalizacji? Tekst stanowi analizę metod konstruowania stylów regionalnego i narodowego, jakie realizowano w programach zakopiańskiej Szkoły Przemysłu Drzewnego z lat 1879–1939. Ówczesna twórczość rzeźbiarska wykładowców i wychowanków placówki oraz prowadzona w jej zakresie edukacja ukazują różnorodność prób instytucjonalizacji oraz instrumentalizacji ludowości. W literaturze przedmiotu brakuje jednak wyczerpującej analizy tych procesów. Celem tekstu jest prześledzenie (nad)użyć folkloru, do jakich dochodziło w obrębie uczelni. Analizie zostały poddane programy edukacji realizowane przez dyrektorów: Franciszka Neužila, Edgara Kovátsa, Stanisława Barabasza, Karola Stryjeńskiego oraz Adama Dobrodzickiego. Genealogia przywołanych koncepcji kształcenia ujawnia pewną ambiwalencję: nauczające wytwórczości ludowej programy były w rzeczywistości formami artystycznej ingerencji w regionalną kulturę Podhala, tworzonymi w większości przez „obcych” i dla „obcych”. Całość rozważań została zrealizowana z perspektywy studiów postkolonialnych oraz historii społeczno-politycznej. Summary: To what extent does the present image of Polish “highland culture” reflect the traditional art and craftsmanship of Podhale from before its institutionalization? This study offers an analysis of methods of creation of regional and national style, conducted at the School of Wood Industry in Zakopane from 1879 to 1939. Art and craft of students and professors and the educational methods demonstrate various attempts of institutionalization and instrumentalization of folklore. Literature on the subject lacks a thorough analysis of those processes. The object of this study was to trace the (ab)uses of folklore that happened on account of the School. Analyzed were the teaching programmes carried out by headmasters: Franciszek Neužil, Edgar Kováts, Stanisław Barabasz, Karol Stryjeński, and Adam Dobrodzicki. Those methods of education reveal an ambivalence: while officially teaching local folklore and craft, they were in fact a form of artistic interference with the regional culture of Podhale, by “strangers” and for “strangers”. The text was based on postcolonial studies and socio-political history.