Representation and resistance in postcolonial literature

Postcolonial criticism and literature wherever postcolonial critics place themselves in terms of these debates, however, most interpret postcolonial literature in terms of a number of overlapping topics. The term itself can be defined in many different ways. Postcolonial readings of resistance and negotiation in. It is the literature that has been created as a voice to the powerless and the poorest members of the global community. Postcolonialism is the academic study of the cultural legacy of colonialism and imperialism, focusing on the human consequences of the control and exploitation of colonized people and their lands. The cambridge history of postcolonial literature volume i postcolonial studies is attentive to cultural differences, marginalization and exclusion.

Chew on this the chilean novelist isabel allende reflects on the class problems that plague chile in these quotations from the house of the spirits. Indian and african womens texts at home and in the diasporas by jaspal kaur singh isbn 9781552386620 this book is an open access ebook. The figure of the child often seems a central one in postcolonial literature, and stories of childhood and of coming into maturity are frequent. Postcolonial theory deals with the reading and writing of literature written in previously or currently colonized countries. A abstractin the mid1980s the term postcolonial first appeared in the. Gerald vizenor, a writer and critic, has celebrated english as a vehicle for resistance. Exile the experience of being an outsider in ones own land or a. Although many of the richest and bestknown literary works in french by north african writers were published in the leadup to and aftermath of decolonization, criticism in this area has exploded in recent decades, in particular with the rise of postcolonial studies. Such studies pay equal attention to the lives and conditions of various racial minorities in the west, as well as to regional, indigenous forms of representation around the world as. The community is scrutinized with the lens of an integrated literaryrhetorical and.

The postcolonial scholar gayatri spivak made an important contribution to theories of representation by insisting that the concept in a literary or semiotic sense must be reconsidered in connection with representation in politics, representation in the sense of any capacity for a person to be the agent of, to stand for, the will of other people. This book focuses on the work of westerneducated african and indian women writers resisting gender identity constructions at various points in history. Postcolonial literary theory reexamines colonial and postcolonial literature, especially concentrating upon the social discourse between the colonizer and the colonized that shaped and produced the literature. Postcolonial fiction writers deal with the traditional colonial discourse, either by modifying or by subverting it, or both. A cultural, social, and political perplexity in postcolonial literature john yang, english 119, brown university, 1999 overview. Rabindranath tagores novel four chapters stands as an epitome of the postcolonial elements of resistance and representation. Women, representation, and resistance in twentiethcentury southern african and caribbean literature. This paper discusses issues of resistance and representation with reference to indian texts and their english translations. In orientalism 1978, edward said analyzed the fiction of. It is an electronic version of a book that can be purchased in physical form through any bookseller or online retailer, or from our distributors. Representation of the other a postcolonial study of the representation of the natives in relation to the colonizers in the stranger and disgrace number of pages.

Strategies in bamas karukku and raj gautamans siluvai raj sarithiram. It deals with the problem of the political ethics of that time. The study of francophone north african literature has witnessed something of a surge in popularity over the last twenty years. Representation is a critical concept not only in postcolonial studies and academia, but in the larger cultural milieu. Postcolonial feminists work for social, cultural, economic, and religious freedoms for women. Apr 06, 2016 influenced by the poststructuralist and postmodern idea of decentering, postcolonial literary criticism undermines the universalist claims of literature, identifies colonial sympathies in the canon, and replaces the colonial metanarratives with counternarratives of resistance, by rewriting history and asserting cultural identities through strategies such as separatism, nativism, cultural. Of course, at least since the romantic era of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the representation of children has been important in much literature in english. Michel foucault, the discourse on language the drive toward global uniformity in cultures, lifestyles and mentalities also extends to the production of literature. Postcolonial theory focuses on the reading and writing of literature written in previously or currently colonized countries. The characters in the novel remain primarily symbols or mouthpieces of postcolonial elements.

This study primarily employs textual analysis, along with ethnography as a secondary method, in order to examine the representation of. Based on postcolonial concepts borrowed from edward said, gayatri spivak, and jurgen habermas, this paper studies the appropriation of french language by algerian authors as a means of representation and resistance to the discourse of the colonizer. The arrival of spanish conquistadors in the new world at the end of the fifteenth century triggered an age of violence, oppression, and colonization that lasted until the united states took the stage as a modern colonial power in 1898. The representation of maori women in the novels once were. As much as oppositional literature or song provided representations of power from the. There are many issues that mark tagores novels as postcolonial literature. The most themes that both deal with are race, gender, ethnicity, identity and culture. Many of the language issues native americans face parallel postcolonial debates, although the status of native american studies remains unclear in postcolonial scholarship. Postcolonial literature isnt just about criticizing the colonial powers. A postcolonial perspective explores the characterization of the johannine community in the farewell discourse of the fourth gospel from a postcolonial perspective. Womens identities and bodies in colonial and postcolonial. Influenced by deconstruction, poststructuralism, and other textbased literary theories, critics initially sought to draw attention to postcolonial literature as resistance.

Colonialism, postcolonialism, postcolonial feminism, and postcolonial ecriture. Jun 14, 2016 the representation of maori women in the novels once were warriors by alan duff and baby noeyes by patricia grace. An introduction, with its seven thematically organized chapters, lucidly elucidates complex concepts and formulations of postcolonial literature and theory and. The representation of maori women in the novels once were warriors by alan duff and baby noeyes by patricia grace. Representation refers to the way the west represents the east in literature and other works of art. A cultural, social, and political perplexity in postcolonial literature john yang, english 119, brown university, 1999 examining postcolonial literature through the lens provided by a single theory inevitably produces an equal and opposite argument. Introduction postcolonial feminism is a critique of the homogenizing.

Four chapters is a love story with a political background. These include, among others, the following common topics. University of calgary press representation and resistance. A cultural, social, and political perplexity in postcolonial literature john yang, english 119, brown university, 1999. If one accepts postcolonial literature only at its simplest definition, he leaves the term too broad and without coherency. Examining postcolonial literature through the lens provided by a single theory inevitably produces an equal and opposite argument. Gandhian politics also wants freedom through resistance and representation but. Postcolonialism literature the concept of self and the other. Representations of colonial identities and anticolonial resistance. Representation and resistance in postcolonial studies researcher. The name postcolonialism is modeled on postmodernism, with which it. Postcolonial criticism as habib in modern literary criticism and theory a history argues, has taken a number.

Francophone north african literature french studies. Representation and resistance in postcolonial studies. I have examined the final paper copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy, with a major in english. It is guided by the postcolonial notions of edward saids orientalism, particularly the concepts of othering and exoticization, as well as a discussion by rey chow about resistance within postcolonial discourse. Bill ashcroft teaches at the university of hong kong and the university of nsw, gareth grif. Resistance is applied to the bulk of works that were and are produced in the processes of decolonisation.

Many postcolonial writers write in english and focus on common themes such as. Author jaspal singh examines colonial and national gender identity constructions in femaleauthored texts at home and the continued deployment of and resistance to gender identity impositions in various spaces. We cant talk about postcolonial literature without talking about things fall apart. Postcolonial theory is also built around the concept of resistance, of resistance as subversion, or opposition, or mimicry but with the haunting problem that resistance always inscribes the resisted into the texture of the resisting. Postcolonial theory focuses on the critique of empire and its aftermath. Although indian literatures have been widely translated in the past, translating indian literature has become a serious academic engagement only in recent decades. Resistance is a continual referent and at least implicit locus of much postcolonial criticism and theory, particularly in terms of the analysis of the failure, or deferral, of liberation in. While the context for this text is senegal, an ongoing dialogue is created between it and other postcolonial writers and texts, providing a platform for a comparative poetics of postcolonial literature. Resistance and social change in postcolonial literature borner, friederike on. Postcolonialism is a critical theory analysis of the history, culture, literature, and discourse of european imperial power. Considered a masterpiece of postcolonial maghrebian literature, katebs 1956 novel addresses such forces.

Postcolonial theory in film cinema and media studies. Postcolonial feminists imagine a world in which differences are celebrated and enjoyed. The key concepts is fully updated and crossreferenced throughout. An introduction to postcolonialism, postcolonial theory and. The problem of representation and resistance in postcolonial literature. Resistance is a continual referent and at least implicit locus of much postcolonial criticism and theory, particularly in terms of the analysis of the failure, or deferral, of liberation in africa, south asia, and the caribbean. The body as a weapon of resistance in postcolonial short. Although many of the richest and bestknown literary works in french by north african writers were published in the leadup to and aftermath of decolonization, criticism in this area has exploded in recent decades, in particular with the rise of postcolonial studies in. Often, we think of representation primarily as presence or appearance where there is an implied visual component.

And thats because this work is a prime example of the way in which postcolonial authors write back to the empire, challenging its racist assumptions, its claims to cultural superiority, and its economic exploitation of the colonized. South asian and african womens texts at home and in the diaspora compares colonial and national constructions of gender identity in westerneducated african and south asian womens texts. Concerns as discussed in the postcolonial studies reader. Postcolonialism literature the concept of self and the. Essays on postcolonial theatre and drama is a collection of well researched essays that focus on various themes and techniques of postcolonial dramatic and theatrical practices. Postcolonial theory and frantz fanons critical models on representation and resistance were adopted as framework, as they reveal and challenge the implicit fallacies of western dominant discourse. Representation and resistance are two important concepts in the framework of postcolonial theory.

This article examines the representation of resistance in two recent novels, rohinton mistrys a fine balance 1996 and timothy mos the redundancy of courage 1991, in order to suggest some of the challenges that these novels pose to current trends in. Influenced by the poststructuralist and postmodern idea of decentering, postcolonial literary criticism undermines the universalist claims of literature, identifies colonial sympathies in the canon, and replaces the colonial metanarratives with counternarratives of resistance, by rewriting history and asserting cultural identities through strategies such as separatism, nativism, cultural. Postcolonial criticism as habib in modern literary criticism and theory a. Postcolonial writing originating from africa, asia, and south america in the midtwentieth century has constantly examined, negotiated with, and reacted to the overarching experience of colonial subjugation. The idea of resistance provides a primary framework for the critical project of postcolonialism. Postcolonial readings of resistance and negotiation in selected contemporary african writing presentee par. As such, it draws from different disciplinary fields such as literature, media, anthropology, politics, philosophy, gender, and sociology, among other more recent approaches such as science and technology studies as in harding 2011 and ecocriticism as discussed in nixon 20.