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