What is Postcolonialism? A Short Introduction
Summary
TLDRIn this episode of Cross-Cultural Talk, Massoud Raja explores the complexities of post-colonial studies, emphasizing its focus on the historical and ongoing impacts of European colonization on non-Western societies. He explains how the field, which originated in literature departments, examines both the actions of colonizers and the responses of the colonized, including their struggles and agency. Raja also touches on the influence of key theorists like Edward Said and the concept of Orientalism, highlighting the importance of understanding the Middle East through a lens not shaped by stereotypes. The discussion extends to contemporary issues like neoliberalism and its effects on post-colonial nations, urging a broader understanding of global development beyond North Atlantic perspectives.
Takeaways
- 🌏 Post-colonialism does not necessarily imply that colonialism has ended, but rather it continues in new forms such as economic and political neo-colonial practices.
- 📚 Post-colonial studies is a field that deals with the historical colonization by European nations and the responses of the colonized people, both literary and political.
- 🏛 Robert Young's definition of post-colonialism emphasizes the scholarly and creative work that traces the actions of colonizers and the responses of the colonized.
- 📚 The field can encompass various political and conceptual divisions such as post-colonial feminism, Marxism, and historiography, all focusing on the impact of colonialism.
- 📘 Robert Young suggested an alternative term 'tricontinentalism' for the field, reflecting the major continents colonized by Europe, but this term did not gain popularity.
- 📚 Post-colonial studies often involves engaging with canonical texts and theorists who challenge mainstream American or British literary canons.
- 📚 Key theorists in post-colonial studies include Frantz Fanon, Edward Said, Homi Bhabha, and Gayatri Spivak, whose works form a counter-canon to traditional literature.
- 🌳 Edward Said's 'Orientalism' is pivotal in explaining how Western views of the Middle East were discursively produced and perpetuated through a body of knowledge.
- 🌐 Post-colonial studies also extends to examining the impact of neoliberalism and global economic systems on post-colonial nations, highlighting the ongoing influence of colonial legacies.
- 🌟 The field encourages a broader understanding of history that does not center solely on the colonial experience, but also explores pre-colonial identities and knowledge.
Q & A
What is the primary focus of post-colonial studies?
-Post-colonial studies primarily focuses on the historical colonialism or colonization of most of the world by European nations and the responses of the colonized people, both literary and political, during and after colonialism.
What does the term 'post' in 'post-colonialism' imply?
-The term 'post' in 'post-colonialism' does not necessarily mean that colonialism has ended. It refers to the ongoing study of the effects and responses to colonial practices, including new forms of economic and political colonialism.
Who is Robert Young and what is his contribution to the definition of post-colonialism?
-Robert Young is a scholar who has provided a clear definition of post-colonialism. He suggests that any scholarly or creative work dealing with European colonization and the responses of the colonized people constitutes the field of post-colonial studies.
What are some of the different branches of post-colonial studies?
-Branches of post-colonial studies include post-colonial feminism, post-colonial Marxism, and post-colonial historiography, all of which deal with issues of colonialism and its impact even after the colonies become independent nation-states.
Why was the term 'tricontinentalism' suggested by Robert Young and why did it not catch on?
-The term 'tricontinentalism' was suggested by Robert Young to encompass the three major continents colonized by Europe: Africa, Asia, and South America, including the Caribbean. However, it did not catch on, and 'post-colonial studies' remains the more commonly used term.
What is the significance of Edward Said's work 'Orientalism' in post-colonial studies?
-Edward Said's 'Orientalism' is significant because it introduced the concept of how the West's stereotypical views of the Middle East were discursively produced over centuries, influencing how people in Europe and America perceive the region, and it has shaped various fields of study within post-colonialism.
What is the role of post-colonial studies in the understanding of global history?
-Post-colonial studies encourages a shift from a Euro-American perspective to a more inclusive understanding of global history, by examining the perspectives of the colonized and the impact of colonialism on their societies.
How does post-colonial studies challenge the mainstream literary canon?
-Post-colonial studies challenges the mainstream literary canon by introducing and valuing texts from colonized regions, which respond to colonialism and offer a counter-narrative to the dominant Western literary tradition.
What are some of the key theorists in post-colonial studies?
-Key theorists in post-colonial studies include Frantz Fanon, Edward Said, Homi Bhabha, and Gayatri Spivak, whose works have significantly contributed to the field's development and understanding.
How does post-colonial studies address the issue of neoliberalism and its impact on post-colonial nations?
-Post-colonial studies examines the impact of neoliberalism on post-colonial nations, including the role of international financial institutions like the IMF and the effects of global economic systems on the development and autonomy of these nations.
What is the broader scope of post-colonial studies beyond the colonial experience?
-Beyond the colonial experience, post-colonial studies also explores pre-colonial identities and knowledge, the present conditions of post-colonial nations, and the role of global economic systems, aiming to challenge the notion that these societies are inherently behind in time.
Outlines
📚 Introduction to Post-Colonial Studies
In this introductory paragraph, Massoud Raja sets the stage for a discussion on post-colonialism, a field of study he acknowledges as complex and challenging to define. He clarifies that 'post' in post-colonialism does not imply the end of colonialism, as neo-colonial practices persist. Raja references Robert Young's definition, which encompasses scholarly and creative works addressing the European colonization of various regions and the responses from the colonized. The paragraph establishes post-colonial studies as an interdisciplinary field primarily within literature departments, focusing on the historical context of colonization and the subsequent reactions and struggles of the colonized peoples. It also touches on the existence of sub-fields within post-colonial studies, such as post-colonial feminism and Marxism, and mentions the impact of Edward Said's 'Orientalism' on the field.
🌍 Orientalism and the Perception of the Middle East
This paragraph delves into Edward Said's concept of 'Orientalism,' exploring how Western societies have developed stereotypical views of the Middle East based on a historical body of knowledge produced by Europeans and Americans. Said argues that this perception is a result of discourse and expertise claimed by 'Orientalists,' which has influenced various fields including historiography and literary representations. The paragraph discusses how Orientalism has created a lens through which the Middle East is viewed as a timeless, static place, detached from the complexities of modern society. It also highlights the impact of Orientalism on academic fields, prompting a shift towards considering the perspectives of the 'natives' and the emergence of a counter-canon in literary studies that includes works responding to colonialism.
🌱 Post-Colonial Studies: Expanding Beyond Colonial Experience
The final paragraph broadens the scope of post-colonial studies, moving beyond the colonial experience to include the retrieval of pre-colonial knowledge and texts. It emphasizes the importance of not centering history on colonialism, which would imply that the history of colonized regions begins with colonial encounters. The paragraph discusses the role of post-colonial scholars and writers in challenging the notion of the present being defined solely by North Atlantic regions and in recognizing the agency and resistance of colonized peoples. It also touches on contemporary issues such as neoliberalism and its impact on post-colonial nation-states, the role of international financial institutions, and the importance of understanding local and global influences on these nations. The paragraph concludes with an invitation to visit Raja's website for more resources on post-colonial studies.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Post-colonialism
💡Neo-colonialism
💡Robert Young
💡Edward Said
💡Orientalism
💡Frantz Fanon
💡Gayatri Spivak
💡Homi Bhabha
💡Tri-continentalism
💡Neoliberalism
Highlights
Post-colonialism does not necessarily imply that colonialism has ended.
Post-colonial studies deals with the issues of European colonization and responses from the colonized people.
The field of post-colonial studies is mostly established in literature departments.
Different political and conceptual divisions exist within post-colonial studies, such as post-colonial feminism and Marxism.
Robert Young suggested an alternative term 'transcontinentalism' for post-colonial studies.
Students often feel intimidated by post-colonial studies but it can be an exciting class.
Canonical texts in post-colonial studies include works by theorists, novelists, short story writers, and playwrights.
Key theorists in post-colonial studies include Frantz Fanon, Edward Said, Homi Bhabha, and Gayatri Spivak.
Edward Said's 'Orientalism' is instrumental in launching the field of post-colonial studies.
Orientalism explores the stereotypical views of the Middle East held by Europeans and Americans.
Post-colonial studies creates a counter canon in literary studies, taking texts from colonized regions seriously.
Post-colonial studies also delves into pre-colonial identities and knowledge.
The present of the world is not solely defined by the North Atlantic regions; post-colonial studies challenges this notion.
Neoliberalism and its impact on post-colonial nations is a significant area of study in post-colonial studies.
Post-colonial studies considers the role of global economic systems and their enforcement on developing nations.
The field of post-colonial studies is broad and no single person can be an expert in all its facets.
Post-colonial studies traces acts of agency within colonized nations and their struggles against colonialism.
For more information on post-colonial studies, visit the website post-colonial.net.
Transcripts
[Music]
hello welcome to cross-cultural talk
once again my name is Massoud Raja and
today I briefly want to talk about my
own field of study post colonialism or
post-colonial studies I found it to be
one of the hardest questions to answer
whenever someone asks me to explain what
is post colonialism so first of all to
be very clear one ought to remember that
the post in post colonialism does not
necessarily mean that we imply by it
that colonialism has ended now we know
that the physical occupation of what
used to be European colonies 19th and
20th centuries it's pretty much over but
we are also aware that a lot of new
colonial or neo-colonial practices
especially economic but also political
still are going on so I mostly rely on
Robert Young's very clear definition of
post colonialism in which he suggests
that any work scholarly and creative
that deals with the issues of European
colonization of Africa the Caribbean
Asia in other parts of the world and
that also traces not only what the
colonizers did but what kind of a
response came from the colonized people
how did they represent themselves how
did they fight back would constitute the
field of post-colonial studies so to
repeat it in so many different words but
which have the similar content
post-colonial studies is a field of
study mostly established in the
literature departments which deals with
any issues related to the historical
colonialism or colonization of most of
the world by the European nations and
then responses of the people who were
colonized both literary and political
and their struggles during and after
colonialism in one way or the other
constitutes post-colonial studies now
within that there can be different
political and conceptual divisions you
can have post-colonial feminism you can
have post-colonial Marxism you can have
post-colonial historiography but all of
these fields of study when they deal
with issues of colonialism its impact
and its impact even after the post
colonies become independent nation
states all of that can be subsumed under
the larger rubric of post-colonial
studies now Robert Young had suggested
in one of his most Magisterial book on
post colonialism called post colonialism
and history he had suggested an
alternative term which was called try
continental ISM in which his idea was
that all the three major continents that
were colonized Africa Asia and South
America and of course the Caribbean is
part of that too because of that the
field should be called try continental
ISM but it never caught on so in your
classrooms when you take a course on
post-colonial studies most of the times
students feel really intimidated but it
can be a very exciting class because
what you will encounter in most
post-colonial studies is some canonical
text of post-colonial studies these are
mostly theorists but also novelist short
story writers playwrights who form a
sort of counter cannon to to the
mainstream American or British Lit
cannon so you will probably read Frantz
Fanon you will probably read Edward
Sayid homi Bhabha guy three speevak so
the concept contemporary three major
theories were Edwards side he passed
away
and then Gayatri Spivak and homi Bhabha
Syed
in a way was instrumental in launching
the field of post-colonial studies
because of his 1977 book Orientalism and
also for his work that followed that
book and also his political work for the
Palestinians in Orientalism Sayid tried
to explain one historical phenomena and
he tried to explain one or two things
and the most important of that was that
when you think of the Middle East when
Europeans or Americans think of the
Middle East why is it that without
having read much about it without having
been there people have a certain
stereotypical view of the Middle East
and that is what sites studied and his
idea was that this is not accidental
this view of the Middle East which he
calls the Orient he thought was
discursive Lee produced and was produced
because a body of knowledge existed in
Europe as well as in America but mostly
in Europe where people claimed a certain
degree of expertise on the Orient they
called themselves the Orientalists right
and that you will find in historiography
you will find in literary
representations of the Middle East in
music even and because of that knowledge
produced over 300 years I'd argues that
there is a way a lens through which the
Europeans have traditionally seen the
Middle East or the Orient and that it is
that way of looking that lens that he
calls Orientalism and it can manifest in
many forms Orientalism can be when
someone thinks of any Middle Eastern
countries and imagines it to be a
timeless place desert the camels the
Bedouin tents all of these views of the
Middle East shape a certain specific
timeless perception
of the Middle East in the European mind
according to Sade and because of that
people cannot develop the capacity to
see the Middle East in the present as as
complex societies dealing with the
similar issues that people over here
deal with know what side does then in
Orientalism then launches entire fields
of study you know it defines how people
do anthropology it changes that it
changes historiography people stop
recording histories of the rest of the
world only from a euro-american
perspective and they start trying to
read it from the natives perspective and
and so on in the field of literary
studies then it creates a space for the
literary production let's say from
Africa from South Asia from the
Caribbean people start taking these
texts seriously because not only are
these masterful texts they are also
texts that in one way or the other
respond to colonialism or the colonial
experience so post-colonial studies then
develops a sort of a counter canon in
which you have a list of theorists to
read and you have a list of texts to
read novels short stories and we have a
list of authors that are considered
prominent or important post-colonial
studies authors on the whole though I
mean to really really sum it up
succinctly any form of literary
education or scholarship or classroom
teaching that takes colonialism as this
act of epistemic and physical violence
against the native people and then
offers what happened during the contact
phase what did the natives do how did
they respond to it how were they
incorporated in the system of
colonialism how did power work in it but
most importantly what acts of agency and
challenge did the natives offer to the
colonial powers what for their freedoms
how will they mobilize so all of that
then becomes part of post-colonial
studies and then for most of us now it
also goes beyond that we don't just want
to harp on the colonial experience
because there is a flaw in that because
if we make the colonial experience
central to African experience or Asian
experience then somehow we are
acknowledging that our history starts
with colonialism which is not
necessarily the case so so many
different branches of post-colonial
studies then go and retrieve knowledge
--is and texts that were produced before
colonialism I'm not saying that it is
possible to retrieve any pre-colonial
identities cultural or political but
that people go and write about it they
try to imagine what life must have been
before colonialism and has articulated
that life would have gone on
if this act of physical and epistemic
violence had not stopped the development
of those societies but more importantly
post-colonial scholars and writers
dispel this idea as if somehow the
present of the world is the present of
North Atlantic regions and that somehow
people in Africa and elsewhere are
behind in time well I mean they might
not be as developed as United States in
rest of the world but that's a question
of resources and not necessarily a
question of Africans being inherently
and not capable of development and these
are some of the issues that we deal with
we also now increasingly also study
neoliberalism and the system of
economics that's prevalent in the world
and which is of course dominant in the
world which is sometimes enforced on the
developing nations on the post-colonial
nation-states so we also study the
impact of neoliberalism and its
implications for people from the global
South all of these things then form part
of post-colonial studies so there is no
way one person can have an expertise in
all facets of post-colonial studies then
there is a law
straining post-colonial studies of
Marxist scholars these are the scholars
we have a materialistic view of history
Robert Young being one of them and they
are the ones who constantly push against
any culturalist claims against
post-colonial theory well I mean if
everything is explained through culture
these people come along and say no there
the economics is involved their class
structure is involved there and that
makes the current state of post-colonial
nation-states very acutely important for
study in post-colonial theory so some of
us do also study the post-colonial
nation state what is happening over
there how much of what is happening is
caused by the local causes and how much
of it is already over determined by the
global commitments of the neoliberal
capital that these nation states have to
face every single day what's the role of
IMF and and debt in in the fate of these
nations all of these these issues in one
way or the other form part of
post-colonial studies so to sum up
post-colonial studies becomes a field of
study after it will say it publishes
Orientalism so it's very important
reader Orientalism but then as a field
of study it never assumes that
colonialism is over it just reads the
colonial experience as one marker of the
history of these nations and then we
read literary texts in the literature
departments that represent that
condition that represent how people
lived under colonialism how they
struggled against it how they fought
against it most importantly tracing
these acts of agency within the
colonized nation states and nations
becomes a very important part of
post-colonial studies so to learn more
about it I would welcome you to visit my
website post-colonial dotnet the website
has been in existence since 2002 I have
a lot of materials there and if you have
any questions please feel free to
contact me through the website thank you
so much for joining me today
and I'll keep producing such brief
videos on different topics related to
post-colonial studies thank you so much
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