Post-Colonialism

The colonialists usually say that it was they who brought usinto history: today we show that this is not so. They made us leave history, our history, to follow them, right at the back, to follow the progress of their history.

~Amilcar Cabral, Return to the Source (1973)

What is the role that we, the exploited people of the world, must play? . . .The contribution that falls to us, the exploited and backward of the world, is to eliminate the foundations sustaining imperialism…”

~CheGuavara,“Message to the Tricontinental”

Postcolonial Literary Theory

Introduction: What is post colonialism?

                        Post colonialism is a relatively new literary theory, only being recognized as a unified theory since the 1990’s.  However, to understand post colonialism, we must of course begin with colonialism. Many people world-wide are familiar with colonization or imperialism, including Indonesians, given that for hundreds of years the Dutch ruled Indonesia. For many centuries individuals from western countries, who were exploring and “discovering” new lands, would encounter new places and “claim” them for their birth countries or countries that had sponsored their voyages. These lands already had native people living there, with entire systems of living, their own forms of government, cultures, etc. However, these explorers usually did not recognize natives as fellow, civilized beings, as evidenced from the way natives were mistreated, often beat, raped, abused, tortured, captured, kidnapped, enslaved and killed. This mistreatment happened for centuries in different places all throughout the world. Explorers would often remain on the land they had “discovered” and coerce the natives into following their new government, customs, etc. Events like these happened in the territory now known as America and Canada, as well as all throughout the continent of Africa, countries throughout Asia, New Zealand, Australia, Central America, and South America.  

            Imperialists usually remained in power until an uprising,war, or revolution took place in order or the colonized to gain independence. Most of the places previously colonialized are now republics or free nations. This is the reason why this theory is called “post” colonialism. Post means after; therefore, this theory recognizes that, for the most part, colonization has ended.

However, not all Post-Colonial theorists agree with the name of the theory containing the word “post.” The reason for this is because post indicates a clear cut or absolute ending. Some argue that it is both incorrect and disrespectful to the previously colonized countries to regard colonialism as being finished. After all, these countries and people have been defined and shaped by imperialist systems and imperialists for centuries. Also, as previously stated, the process of colonizing was usually bloody and not freely given, but power was usurped from the natives or aboriginal people. Essentially, these countries and citizens are still dealing with the trauma, the effects, and the influences that colonialism had on their country. Some contend that referring to these tragic periods of history as “post” is a form of ignorance and denial. In using this name, are we denying the unjust and gruesome nature of colonialism? Are we attempting to legitimize the imperialists’ actions? In our desperate desire to move on, are we just (attempting to) forget about the past? Are we denying the impacts colonialism had on history and also denying the potential impacts on our present? (As we are never truly aware, nor can we ever fully know, to what extent historical events have shaped us.) In short, post colonialism, like many theories, is not one unified set of ideas or concepts that everyone agrees on. Rather, theorists argue and concepts are challenged and theories are rewritten continuously. These differences of opinions and lack of unification is not unique to post colonialism, but true for many theories (feminists, you may remember, also do not all agree). Therefore, it is always crucial to specify which post-colonial theorist or writer you are going to use (Selden, et al).

Like feminism (and we will later learn in Marxism, ecocriticism and queer theory), post-colonialists are also concerned with issues of power and control. In this particular situation, the colonizers act as the Subject or the Center. They take power away from the colonized. In doing this, they marginalize those whom they are colonizing. The colonized become ‘othered’ and dehumanized. In fact, the frequently used terms of marginalized, marginalizers, and marginalization now used across disciplines originally emerged from post-colonial theory.

One of the aims of postcolonialism is to contest the concept that true knowledge comes from only one place in the world, the West or Europe. As you all learn in CCU, culture forms us all in such specific ways, and the very notion that one culture is right whereas the other is wrong is incorrect, ethnocentric and very limited thinking. In recognizing Eurocentrismas well as the long and rich past of racism and discrimination, postcolonialism seeks to challenge these previously upheld ideas. According to R. Young (2003), “Postcolonialism begins from its own knowledges, many of them more recently elaborated during the long course of the anti-colonial movements, and starts from the premise that those in the west, both within and outside the academy, should take such other knowledges, other perspectives, as seriously as those of the west. Postcolonialism, or tricontinentalism, is a general name for these insurgent knowledges that come from the subaltern, the dispossessed, and seek to change the terms and values under which we all live. You can learn it anywhere if you want to. The only qualification you need to start is to make sure that you are looking at the world not from above, but from below.” In this above quote we see the protest of the idea that knowledge that is the best, or the most complete, derives from the West. In other words, postcolonialists challenge Eurocentric (the idea that Europe is the center of the world, the important part of the world, where all knowledge comes from) truths.

Peter Barry, in Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory, claims that postcolonial writers often go through three stages of development, very similar to feminist writers. Firstly, they enter the “Adopt” stage. This term indicates that authors first accept the form or style of writing that they are supposed to do, or in other words, what the west has established as the ideal. (The West, remember, is the one who has formed the Canon, or the established classic (or “the great”) works of literature. At first, the fairness of the Canon is not contested. In the past it was not contested that the best writers came from the West.) Afterwards, the postcolonial writer will embark on the Adapt change. In this stage, the author may use the form of the West but the subject matter or story will focus on the colonized country. Therefore, it is a type of hybrid or mixture of the two influences. However, the last and final stage is Adept. In this stage, the writer no longer is an apprentice and looking toward westerners as the right way to write. Rather, he/she declares him/herself as independent from Eurocentric norms. The writer embraces his/her own style, culture, voice, etc.

Hard to easily define or pinpoint “what is postcolonialism” and “what is NOT postcolonialism”

But please keep these in mind:

--“Above all, postcolonialism seeks to intervene, to force its alternative knowledges into the power structures of the west as well as the non-west. It seeks to change the way people think, the way they behave, to produce a more just and equitable relation between the different peoples of the world. For this reason, there will be no attempt here to elaborate postcolonialism as a single set of ideas, or as a single practice. At one level there is no single entity called 'postcolonial theory': postcolonialism, as a term, describes practices and ideas as various as those within feminism” (as qtd in Young).

--“A lot of people don't like the term 'postcolonial': now you may begin to see why. It disturbs the order of the world. It threatens privilege and power. It refuses to acknowledge the superiority of western cultures. Its radical agenda is to demand equality and well-being for all human beings on this earth” (as qtd in Young).

--“Postcolonialism, with its fundamental sympathies for the subaltern, for the peasantry, for the poor, for outcasts of all kinds, eschews the high culture of the elite and espouses subaltern cultures and knowledges which have historically been considered to be of little value but which it regards as rich repositories of culture and counter-knowledge. The sympathies and interests of postcolonialism are thus focused on those at the margins of society, those whose cultural identity has been dislocated or left uncertain by the forces of global capitalism” (as qtd in Young).

Go Indonesia: Cool Way Indonesia contributed to postcolonialism:

“At the Bandung Conference of 1955, 29 mostly newly independent African and Asian countries, including Egypt, Ghana, India, and Indonesia, initiated what became known as the non-aligned movement. They saw themselves as an independent power bloc, with a new 'third world' perspective on political, economic, and cultural global priorities. It was an event of enormous importance; it symbolized the common attempt of the people of colour in the world to throw off the yoke of the white western nations... In many ways, the Bandung Conference marks the origin of postcolonialism as a self-conscious political philosophy” (as qtd. in Young).

Major Contributors to Post Colonial Theory:

Edward Said

            In 1978 Edward Said published a piece entitled Orientalism. This monumental document would later give birth to the theory of post colonialism. In this text, Said challenged Eurocentrism, or the idea that Europeans were the most civilized, the best, the superior, and the idea that whites were the supreme beings. He further critiqued out how Eastern countries are usually portrayed in very limiting, narrow, and stereotypical ways. Said further pointed out how Eastern countries are frequently shown as inferior to the West by revealing them to more feminine or effeminate, more exotic, mystical, irrational, traditional, and superstitious. On a more positive note, sometimes the cultures are not shown as inherently negative; perhaps they are portrayed as fascinating and seductive, but still they are othered, shown as not the norm. Instead, they are compared to their western counterparts by western standards. Consequently, westerners are unjustly revealed (by themselves, or sadly, by the East) as the more rational, the superior, the masculine, the logical, the educated, and the civilized culture(s).

            Portrayals of “the Orient” (as Said called them, now referred to as Eastern countries) are largely homogenous; this means that the East is shown in a singular, other-ing manner. In other words, different people and dissimilar cultures are shown as being the same. (For example, the East represents all the countries in Africa and Asia; clearly they are different and cannot always be thought of as the same. But they are treated as homogenous or the same.) They are all just “the other,”compared to the west. Also, obviously these representations are negative stereotypes that paint the west in an unfairly superior manner.

Frantz Fanon

            In 1961 Fanon wrote a piece entitled, The Wretched of the Earth. This piece was one of the revolutionary documents that also would give rise to post-colonialist theory. In this piece, he discussed “cultural resistance” and argued that the only way for colonized people to progress or to move forward was for them to reclaim their past. He also contended that the colonized would not find their own voice and identity until they owned their history. In this way he humanized the colonized, emphasizing that their identity and voice had value. Also he acknowledged that the past shapes and influences them, especially because of the effects of the colonization.

HomiK. Bhabha

Bhabha is a well-known postcolonial critic, known for coining the phrases of “hybridity” and also “liminal spaces.” Though critics have claimed that his prose is indecipherable or hard to understand, he still remains one of the most respected postcolonial critics.

One of Bhabha’s contributions to postcolonial criticism is the concept of hybridity. Hybridization refers to the idea that cultures, voices and identities are not stagnant. Rather, they are ever emerging and ever developing. Histories influence our present and require that we need to change our ideas of relations between cultures. Furthermore, as the cultures that have been otheredand  marginalized, Bhabha sees hybridity as a way to empower these cultures to come forth and question, challenge, and debstailize western authority. In this way, hybridity helps cultural resistance. Such a theory of resistance is further extended in his theory of the ‘Third Space of enunciation’ and he asserts that there is a ‘transforming value’ of change for the othered when they are self-identifying as neither the One (unitary working class) nor the Other (the politics of gender) but something else besides which contests the terms and territories of both’ (Selden, et al). This empowers those affected by colonization, rather than just overly focusing on critiquing them.

*Bhabha also critiques the western Canon.

GayatriSpivak

“subaltern”

Spivak is an influential postcolonial critic. Although she is often critiqued by others for having writing is very opaque and hard to understand. Nevertheless, Spivak coined the phrase “subaltern” to refer to subordinated class and peoples, a term frequently used in postcolonial criticism and throughout academia. Although Spivak does write very confusing texts, she acknowledges her own complicated position. She is influenced by the west (being educated in western ways and teaching in western universities, publishing texts in the west). However, Spivak is Bengali (Indian) by birth, and therefore shealso wrestles with issues of being marginalized and othered, and other issues unique to postcolonialism.

Spivak struggles with how to teach in the western world so as not to just reinforce western values and further portray the east as ‘other’. She attempts to critique and question the Western canon to try to give a voice to subaltern literatures. In her writing she also deconstructs (or breaks down) language and our notions of ideology and truth. She is also known to use Marxist ideas in her writing, as subaltern people are usually affected not only by their race and other postcolonial issues but also through class conflict and social status.

Spivak is known for her critique of the madwoman wife in Jane Eyre. Rather though than merely seeing this character from a feminist angel, as Gilbert and Gubar do, Spivak reads her as ‘othered’ not just because of her gender but because of her birthplace. This concept is also portrayed in the postmodern piece, Wide Sargasso Sea, a novel by Jean Rhys, one that tells the wife’s version of the story (remember that in Jane Eyre the wife is not given a voice. Instead, other characters speak for her. So the readers only know her through the claims or assertions of other characters, all western ones). The wife, Antoinette (renamed or labeled as Bertha by her husband, Rochester) is originally from the Caribbean and endures double marginalization and other mistreatment from being both a woman and a Caribbean in a Eurocentric novel.

Postcolonial Feminism

Thus, to simply denounce Third World women's oppression with notions and terms made to reflect or fit into Euro-American women's criteria of equality is to abide by ethnographic ideology . . . which depends on the representation of a coherent cultural subject as source of scientific knowledge to explain a native culture and reduces every gendered activity to a sex-role stereotype. Feminism in such a context may well mean 'westernization*.

~Trin T. Minh-ha, Woman. Native, Other (1990)

As discussed last week, the problem with feminists is that not all groups of feminists have always been inclusive. This is a critique made by many African-American feminists. Some postcolonial feminists share similar concerns. The conflict or problem happens when the standard of “what is feminism,” “what is a feminist” or “what are the major feminist issues” becomes only (or mostly) those of white European feminist concerns. Obviously feminists who live in a country previously colonized have their own unique struggles, perhaps discrimination and racism, which are not ones that white European or American feminists can truly understand.

Postcolonial feminists are doubly marginalized. This means that they are marginalized for two reasons; the first is because they are women and it is “a man’s world,” so they struggle with finding their identity and voice in a patriarchal society. The second reason is because of Western-centrism; too often and still to this day, many have the misperception that Western countries and cultures are still the norm (the normal one) or the best, the superior, compared to the Eastern countries. (This stereotype or generalization is one that postcolonialists would critique.)

Some postcolonial feminists even argue that they are made to choose or mainly one identity over the other; hence, they must either focus on their feminist concerns or their postcolonial concerns. They are labeled only in one way. Whereas postcolonial feminism attempts to give a voice to their unique position and their specific focuses.

Other Postcolonial writers:

AniaLoomba

John McLeod

Ahmad

Benita Parry

The Close Connection to Post Colonial and Critical Race Theory

            Critical race theory has a close relationship and connection to post-colonial theory. Both focus on issues of power and control, and how minorities are othered and marginalized. Critical race theory originates from African-American studies in the US, and is more specifically geared to matters of racism, which still pervade American culture. Whereas postcolonial criticism also addresses racism and issues related to race, but this theory is often broader and not only focused on America. Postcolonialism also discusses issues of ethnocentrism, history, xenophobia, colonization history, etc. 

Additional Critical race theorists:

Henry Louis Gates Jr.

bell hooks

Toni Morrison

Cornel West

What do Post-Colonial Literary Theorists do?     

1. They reject the claims to universalism (or the idea that there is one best type of writing) from canonical Western literature. Rather, they seek to show its limitations of outlook, especially its general inability to empathise across boundaries of cultural and ethnic difference.

2. They examine the representation of other cultures in literature as a way of achieving this end. (Sometimes in examining this representation they critique the ways of this representation.)

3. They show how such literature is often evasively and crucially silent on matters concerned with colonisation and imperialism.

4. They raise critiques and questions of cultural difference and diversity and examine how authors and characters regard them in relevant literary works.

5. They celebrate hybridity and 'cultural poly valency', that is, the situation whereby individuals andgroups belong simultaneously to more than one culture (for instance, that of the coloniser, through a colonial school system, and that of the colonised, through local and oral traditions).

            An example of this is Ireland: Ireland was colonized by the British. Yet, Ireland was also part of the British who colonized others, in more extreme ways, like through enslaving Africans.

6. They develop a perspective, not just applicable to postcolonial literatures, whereby states of marginality, plurality and perceived 'Otherness' are seen as sources of energy and areas for potential change.(qtd from Peter Barry, 2002).

Works Cited

Barry, P. (2002). Beginning theory: an introduction to literary and cultural theory. 2^nd ed. Manchester: Manchester university press.

Essays and Studies 1999: Postcolonial studies and criticism. (2000). Ed. Laura Chrisman and Benita Parry. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer.

Selden, Widdowson, and Brooker.(2005) A reader’s guide to contemporary literary theory.5^th ed. Pearson Longman.

Young, P. J.C. (2003). Post-colonialism: a very short introduction. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

-This literature is dedicated for my friend and beloved lecturer Danielle E. living in United States, and now pursuing her PhD program. This literature is part of the introduction of literature study when I was in a college. Written by my beloved lecturer. The reason I post this because I would like people to read this literature so that they will get more knowledge and be more critical toward perspectives and any literature texts. Thank you :)-