Post-Colonial

Postcolonial literary theory conceptual meaning

- Postcolonial literary theory is a school of thought that acknowledges and critically examines the
political, economic, social, and historical impact of European colonisation through literature.
This theory addresses the role literature plays in challenging and perpetuating cultural
imperialism, taking into consideration the power struggle between the historically colonising
powers and the countries and communities that have been historically colonised.
- Cultural imperialism refers to how the colonisation of nations has impacted their culture and
traditions. Cultural imperialism includes formal actions to oppress different cultural activities
and social discourses which look down on different cultures and classify them as 'uncivilised'.
- The theory is based on the idea that 'the world we inhabit is impossible to understand except in
relationship to the history of imperialism and colonial rule'
- Colonial rule had a damaging effect on colonies. Imperial European powers drained countries'
economic and natural resources for their own financial gain, leaving the citizens of those
countries worse off.

Postcolonial literary theory purpose

- Postcolonial literary theory first emerged as a school of thought in the 1980s as a re-evaluation
of narratives of European colonial rule and imperial expansion in literature. This school of
thought became particularly concerned with how the Global South and people of colour are
presented in European literature and how that presentation influences societal perception. The
Global South refers to the regions of Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
- Postcolonial theory considers how our world's colonial past still influences literature today. As
noted by Robert Young in the introduction of Postcolonialism: An Historical Introduction (2001),
postcolonialism
- is concerned with colonial history only to the extent that that history has determined the
configurations and power structures of the present.
- The purpose of postcolonial literary theory is to address and critically examine literature
produced in countries which were previously colonised. Through critically examining such
literature, postcolonialism seeks to deconstruct the Western literary canon, which has
traditionally favoured white voices.

Edward Said's Orientalism (1978)

- In his text Orientalism, Said critiqued the study of the 'Orient', arguing that the purpose of this
study was to certify the identity of Europeans rather than to be an objective form of academic
study. European scholars certified their identity by 'othering' the peoples of colonised countries.
The concept of the 'Other' argues that the identity of every culture is dependent on the
existence of a different 'other' culture'. Therefore, to assure their own sense of culture and self,
Western / European scholars constructed those in the Middle East and their culture as 'other'.
 - The Orient refers to the people of the Middle East. The term Orientalism in academic circles
refers to Western beliefs and teachings on the Orient.
- Said also explored how Europe and the West often portrayed the Middle East through false,
romanticised images. Through this exploration, Said discussed the interaction between
knowledge and power, arguing that a correlation exists between misrepresentations of the
Middle East in literature and art and the justification of colonialism and imperial policies.

Homi Bhabha

- Bhabha borrowed the term hybridity from biological science.

- The scientific term 'hybrid' refers to an organism produced by a cross between different
organisms or species.
- Bhabha co-opted the term and concept to discuss the identities and subjectivities formed within
the colonial master/subject relationship.
- Similar to the scientific concept, hybridisation in Bhabha's theory refers to the emergence of
new mixed identities as a result of the intermingling of different cultures. The process of
hybridisation can occur when two or more cultures operate in close proximity.
- Although the concept of hybridity was proposed primarily within the colonial framework, it has
since been adopted by cultural theorists and sociologists to discuss several issues, such as
migration, globalisation, imperialism, and neocolonialism.
- by the hybrid subject creates tension in the colonial power equation. Bhabha describes the
space the hybridised colonial occupies as the third space. This space of 'being almost the same
but not quite' created through mimicry is a space of ambivalence between the coloniser and the
colonised, causing troubles in colonial power relations.

Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak's 'Can the Subaltern Speak?' (1988)

- In her essay 'Can the Subaltern Speak?' Spivak provided a commentary on how the practice of
Sati (or Suttee) is often not documented in literature. This essay took an intersectional
approach, considering both postcolonial and feminist theories by examining the presentation
and representation of women in previously colonised countries.
- Sati refers to the practice in which a widow sacrifices herself by sitting on her dead husband's
funeral pyre.
- An intersectional approach takes into account people's overlapping identities to understand the
interconnected systems of oppression they face.
- Spivak attributed this lack of documentation to the fact that Western and male authors
controlled the documentation of cultural practices. The lack of voice held by the subaltern is a
form of cultural imperialism, which threatens to erase the history and cultures of certain
peoples who are considered 'less' than the majority (in this case, Westerners and men).
- Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak is an Indian-American literary theorist born in 1942.

Themes of Post-Colonial theory

- Diaspora refers to how people have moved from their homelands to different locations around
the world. Despite being located in different areas of the world, these peoples share a collective
memory of their ancestral home, which shapes part of their personal identity. However, this
ancestral home is not a literal place which one can visit.
 - Mimicry argues that colonised peoples often mimic their colonisers by adopting their language
and culture. This mimicry can be both voluntary and forced. However, as stated in Homi
Bhabha's essay 'Of Mimicry and Man' (1984), the colonised reproduce the culture of the
colonisers in a way that is 'almost the same, but not quite'. This subverts the idea that colonial
powers held total control and authority over the colonised.
- Conquest and anti-conquest - A key narrative in postcolonial literary theory is one that reframes
the story of the conquest of colonised nations. Traditionally, natives were framed as the
enemies of the coloniser for defending their homes and fighting back against colonisation. This
discourse justified colonialism by portraying colonisation as a moral battle which 'good' Christian
Europeans were on the right side of. In reality, natives were the victims of colonisation.
Postcolonialism explores the way in which Europeans justified conquest and acknowledges that
natives were justified in defending their homes. In Imperial Eyes (2007) Mary Louise Pratt
explores the writing of European explorers from the 18th century onward in relation to
European colonialism. Pratt argues that the travel writing of European colonisers justifies
colonialism through an 'anti-conquest' narrative that presents the narrators of these accounts as
brave adventurers trying to survive in the unknown and 'uncivilised' worlds inhabited by a non-
European Other. Even though these narrators are 'exploring' these lands as part of the act of
colonisation, and often perceiving the natives of these areas as lesser, their narrative creates a
sense of naive innocence. This element of innocence discourages the reader from placing blame
on the narrator for the crimes of colonisation, legitimising the process.
- National identity - Postcolonial literary theory often considers how national identity has been
impacted by colonial rule in order to reclaim it. Postcolonial literature published during and
after the period of decolonisation, written by authors from or with heritage from colonised
countries, often focused on presenting the cultures and peoples of their nations in a realistic
way. This realistic portrayal opposed the way in which European literature 'othered' the cultures
of colonised nations. In his 1958 novel Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe portrays the Igbo tribe
in Nigeria before and during colonisation. Achebe presents the Igbo tribe, and the novel's
protagonist Okonkwo, in a realistic light. Allowing the societies and characters in his work to
have both positive aspects and flaws. By doing so, Achebe attempts to capture an accurate
sense of the Igbo culture before European colonisation.
- Otherness - has been concerned for those who occupy the subordinate position in society,
which have been presented as inferior in terms of knowledge and abilities, which implies that
they need the leadership of those who are, by definition, more capable, more educated, more
advanced, more civilized, more merciful, etc. On this way, the hierarchy of representations is
established, thus justifying the existing ones power relations in society as well as the unequal
treatment of those who are represented as inferior. The concept of Otherness within the
framework of postcolonial criticism is used to describe the rest of the world, i.e., everything that
does not fall within the scope of Europeans, as one homogeneous mass characterized by ugly
features. Otherness in postcolonial criticism refers to colonized peoples who are marginalized by
the imperial and identified by their difference from the center. Any area that is not part of
European soil is considered inferior, dangerous and less valuable.

Postcolonial Literary Theory: Approaches | StudySmarter. (n.d.). StudySmarter UK.

https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/english-literature/literary-criticism-and-
theory/postcolonial-literary-theory/
Homi K. Bhabha: Critical Theorist on Hybridity & Book Quotes. (n.d.). StudySmarter UK.
https://www.studysmarter.co.uk/explanations/english-literature/literary-criticism-and-theory/homi-
bhabha/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/369322429_POSTCOLONIAL_OTHERNESS