Post-Colonial Criticism Or What Did The White Man Do Now??

What is Post-Colonialism? A strategy used to examine the culture of the former colonies of European empires and how those former colonies relate to the rest of the world. What might be included in culture??

What is Post-Colonialism? Post-colonial writers often try to resurrect their culture and/or battle preconceptions The same can be said about the post- colonial critic

Key Terms Alterity - "lack of identification with some part of one's personality or one's community, differentness, otherness“ Diaspora (dI-ASP-er-ah- "is used (without capitalization) to refer to any people or ethnic population forced or induced to leave their traditional ethnic homelands, being dispersed throughout other parts of the world, and the ensuing developments in their dispersal and culture" (Wikipedia). Eurocentrism - "the practice, conscious or otherwise, of placing emphasis on European (and, generally, Western) concerns, culture and values at the expense of those of other cultures.

Key Terms Hybridity - "an important concept in post- colonial theory, referring to the integration (or, mingling) of cultural signs and practices from the colonizing and the colonized cultures. Things to consider when discussing hybridity include assimilation and adaptation of cultural practices, the cross-fertilization of cultures. These ideas can be seen as positive, enriching, and dynamic, as well as as oppressive" Hegemony - : preponderant influence or authority over others ( webster.com/dictionary/hegemony ) webster.com/dictionary/hegemony

Key Terms Imperialism - "the policy of extending the control or authority over foreign entities as a means of acquisition and/or maintenance of empires, either through direct territorial control or through indirect methods of exerting control on the politics and/or economy of other countries. The term is used by some to describe the policy of a country in maintaining colonies and dominance over distant lands, regardless of whether the country calls itself an empire" (Dictionary.LaborLawTalk.com).

Questions to consider… How does the literary text, explicitly or allegorically, represent various aspects of colonial oppression? What does the text reveal about the problematics of post-colonial identity, including the relationship between personal and cultural identity and such issues as double consciousness and hybridity? What person(s) or groups does the work identify as "other" or stranger? How are such persons/groups described and treated?

Questions to consider… What does the text reveal about the politics and/or psychology of anti-colonialist resistance? What does the text reveal about the operations of cultural difference - the ways in which race, religion, class, gender, sexual orientation, cultural beliefs, and customs combine to form individual identity - in shaping our perceptions of ourselves, others, and the world in which we live? How does the text respond to or comment upon the characters, themes, or assumptions of a canonized (colonialist) work?

Questions to consider… Are there meaningful similarities among the literatures of different post-colonial populations? How does a literary text in the Western canon reinforce or undermine colonialist ideology through its representation of colonialization and/or its inappropriate silence about colonized peoples? (Tyson )

Sources Brizee, Allen. “Post-Colonial Criticism (1990-Present)”. Purdue OWL. Purdue University Writing Lab, 21 Apr Web. 15 Nov Siegel, Kristi. Introduction to Modern Literary Theory. Np. Web. 15 Nov. 2012