Postcolonial writing and theories
What is it?• As a theory: a reaction to
the power structures of the (ex) colonial rulers
• As a group of writers: writers of fiction and non-fiction from the (ex) colonies
problems• Not all nations studied have been colonies• Many titles were written before independence• Colonialism is not over• It is Eurocentric and not the only experience of
postcolonial nations• Not all postcolonial writers write of colonialism• Not everyone wants to be labelled as
postcolonial
Theorists – an overview
• The theory evolved as a reaction to colonialism:– Militarily – physical rule
• But more importantly– Culturally – mental rule
• And now increasingly– financially – economic rule
Edward Said – Orientalism (1978)
• The study of orientalism leads to divisions between east (the orient) and west (the occident)
• The image of the orient is constructed, and creates the idea that all “eastern” cultures are fundamentally similar to each other ...
• ...and inferior to western cultures
• “The East” is seen as homogenous
Gyatri Spivak – the subaltern• Subaltern – persons outside of the
political hegemony• Can the Subaltern Speak? (1988)–Marginalised groups have no
“voice”–Postcolonial theorists continue to
use the language, power, educational and political structures of the ruling hegemony–Therefore only subalterns are
qualified to speak for themselves
Homi K. Bhabha - hybridization
• Homi K. Bhabha and hybridization
• The Location of Culture (1994)
• Writers belong to both cultures
• Postcolonial writers, using colonial forms:– Hybridize, change and
add nuance– Becomes an act of
subversion– Eventually a political
act
A few postcolonial writers...
• Problem:• “I am not a postcolonial writer – I am
a writer”• Studying the postcolonial writer –
continued orientalism?• We have to deconstruct the
postcolonial writer as the Other
Chinua Achebe• Nigeria• Things Fall Apart 1958• A reaction to Heart of
Darkness• Neutral standpoint?• Gives Africans a voice
V.S.Naipaul• Trinidad• A House for Mr Biswas
1961• Explores the territory
that exists between cultures
• An allegory for the post-colonial nation’s search for identity
Jean Rhys• Dominican• Wide Sargasso Sea 1966• A prequel to Brontë's Jane
Eyre• Gives voice to the
“Madwoman in the attic”• Marginalises the colonial
rulers
Salman Rushdie• India• Midnight’s Children 1981• A retelling of India’s and Pakistan’s
independence• Magic realism – challenging western
tradition of narrative, and questioning the neutrality of historical narratives
• Hybridity – blending colonial and indigenous viewpoints
Arundhati Roy
• The God of Small Things 1997
• Example of the modern postcolonial novel
• A refocusing on internal social and political issues
• But we can see how the western hegemony is partly responsible
In fact...
• If we are dealing with the problems of colonialism..
• Then why not Jonathan Swift?
What postcolonial critics do
• Reject the universalism of the western canon• Examine how western literature represents
other cultures• Reveal how colonization is “covered up”, even
justified• Accept hybrid combining of cultures• Revalue “otherness” as a site for potential
change
Jean-Leon Gerome: Snake Charmer 1870
View of the orient as immoral and corrupt
Edouard Richter – The Fortune Teller
Positions?
Whirling Dervishes Jean-Leon Gerome 1899
Cairo 1880
Painting of a Zulu attack on a “Voortrekker” camp, Charles Bell 1813-1882
The moral high ground...
SANDY ESAU: Coon Carnival II
And what of the postcolonial view of the self?
http://www.zimbio.com/Yinka+Shonibare/articles/0Y54tOsA7DQ/Yinka+Shonibare+MBE+Art+meets+Post+Colonial
The Scramble for AfricaYinka Shonibara
Disney’s Aladdin• Intro song: “it’s barbaric, but
hey, it’s home”
• Good guys – fair skinned, Caucasian features, American accents
• Bad guys – dark skinned, Semitic noses and foreign accents
• Film is replete with stereotypical oriental characters
http://www.asianetwork.org/exchange/2006-fall/anex2006-fall-singh.pdf