What Postcolonial Theory Doesn’t Say

What Postcolonial Theory Doesn’t Say

Author: Anna Bernard

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-08-11

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1135096112

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This book reclaims postcolonial theory, addressing persistent limitations in the geographical, disciplinary, and methodological assumptions of its dominant formations. It emerges, however, from an investment in the future of postcolonial studies and a commitment to its basic premise: namely, that literature and culture are fundamental to the response to structures of colonial and imperial domination. To a certain extent, postcolonial theory is a victim of its own success, not least because of the institutionalization of the insights that it has enabled. Now that these insights no longer seem new, it is hard to know what the field should address beyond its general commitments. Yet the renewal of popular anti-imperial energies across the globe provides an important opportunity to reassert the political and theoretical value of the postcolonial as a comparative, interdisciplinary, and oppositional paradigm. This collection makes a claim for what postcolonial theory can say through the work of scholars articulating what it still cannot or will not say. It explores ideas that a more aesthetically sophisticated postcolonial theory might be able to address, focusing on questions of visibility, performance, and literariness. Contributors highlight some of the shortcomings of current postcolonial theory in relation to contemporary political developments such as Zimbabwean land reform, postcommunism, and the economic rise of Asia. Finally, they address the disciplinary, geographical, and methodological exclusions from postcolonial studies through a detailed focus on new disciplinary directions (management studies, international relations, disaster studies), overlooked locations and perspectives (Palestine, Weimar Germany, the commons), and the necessity of materialist analysis for understanding both the contemporary world and world literary systems.


Book Synopsis What Postcolonial Theory Doesn’t Say by : Anna Bernard

Download or read book What Postcolonial Theory Doesn’t Say written by Anna Bernard and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-08-11 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book reclaims postcolonial theory, addressing persistent limitations in the geographical, disciplinary, and methodological assumptions of its dominant formations. It emerges, however, from an investment in the future of postcolonial studies and a commitment to its basic premise: namely, that literature and culture are fundamental to the response to structures of colonial and imperial domination. To a certain extent, postcolonial theory is a victim of its own success, not least because of the institutionalization of the insights that it has enabled. Now that these insights no longer seem new, it is hard to know what the field should address beyond its general commitments. Yet the renewal of popular anti-imperial energies across the globe provides an important opportunity to reassert the political and theoretical value of the postcolonial as a comparative, interdisciplinary, and oppositional paradigm. This collection makes a claim for what postcolonial theory can say through the work of scholars articulating what it still cannot or will not say. It explores ideas that a more aesthetically sophisticated postcolonial theory might be able to address, focusing on questions of visibility, performance, and literariness. Contributors highlight some of the shortcomings of current postcolonial theory in relation to contemporary political developments such as Zimbabwean land reform, postcommunism, and the economic rise of Asia. Finally, they address the disciplinary, geographical, and methodological exclusions from postcolonial studies through a detailed focus on new disciplinary directions (management studies, international relations, disaster studies), overlooked locations and perspectives (Palestine, Weimar Germany, the commons), and the necessity of materialist analysis for understanding both the contemporary world and world literary systems.

Postcolonial Theory and the Specter of Capital

Postcolonial Theory and the Specter of Capital

Author: Vivek Chibber

Publisher: Verso Books

Published: 2013-03-12

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 1844679764

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Postcolonial theory has become enormously influential as a framework for understanding the Global South. It is also a school of thought popular because of its rejection of the supposedly universalizing categories of the Enlightenment. In this devastating critique, mounted on behalf of the radical Enlightenment tradition, Vivek Chibber offers the most comprehensive response yet to postcolonial theory. Focusing on the hugely popular Subaltern Studies project, Chibber shows that its foundational arguments are based on a series of analytical and historical misapprehensions. He demonstrates that it is possible to affirm a universalizing theory without succumbing to Eurocentrism or reductionism. Postcolonial Theory and the Specter of Capital promises to be a historical milestone in contemporary social theory.


Book Synopsis Postcolonial Theory and the Specter of Capital by : Vivek Chibber

Download or read book Postcolonial Theory and the Specter of Capital written by Vivek Chibber and published by Verso Books. This book was released on 2013-03-12 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Postcolonial theory has become enormously influential as a framework for understanding the Global South. It is also a school of thought popular because of its rejection of the supposedly universalizing categories of the Enlightenment. In this devastating critique, mounted on behalf of the radical Enlightenment tradition, Vivek Chibber offers the most comprehensive response yet to postcolonial theory. Focusing on the hugely popular Subaltern Studies project, Chibber shows that its foundational arguments are based on a series of analytical and historical misapprehensions. He demonstrates that it is possible to affirm a universalizing theory without succumbing to Eurocentrism or reductionism. Postcolonial Theory and the Specter of Capital promises to be a historical milestone in contemporary social theory.

What Postcolonial Theory Doesn't Say

What Postcolonial Theory Doesn't Say

Author: Anna Bernard

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-08-11

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 113509618X

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This book reclaims postcolonial theory, addressing persistent limitations in the geographical, disciplinary, and methodological assumptions of its dominant formations. It emerges, however, from an investment in the future of postcolonial studies and a commitment to its basic premise: namely, that literature and culture are fundamental to the response to structures of colonial and imperial domination. To a certain extent, postcolonial theory is a victim of its own success, not least because of the institutionalization of the insights that it has enabled. Now that these insights no longer seem new, it is hard to know what the field should address beyond its general commitments. Yet the renewal of popular anti-imperial energies across the globe provides an important opportunity to reassert the political and theoretical value of the postcolonial as a comparative, interdisciplinary, and oppositional paradigm. This collection makes a claim for what postcolonial theory can say through the work of scholars articulating what it still cannot or will not say. It explores ideas that a more aesthetically sophisticated postcolonial theory might be able to address, focusing on questions of visibility, performance, and literariness. Contributors highlight some of the shortcomings of current postcolonial theory in relation to contemporary political developments such as Zimbabwean land reform, postcommunism, and the economic rise of Asia. Finally, they address the disciplinary, geographical, and methodological exclusions from postcolonial studies through a detailed focus on new disciplinary directions (management studies, international relations, disaster studies), overlooked locations and perspectives (Palestine, Weimar Germany, the commons), and the necessity of materialist analysis for understanding both the contemporary world and world literary systems.


Book Synopsis What Postcolonial Theory Doesn't Say by : Anna Bernard

Download or read book What Postcolonial Theory Doesn't Say written by Anna Bernard and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-08-11 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book reclaims postcolonial theory, addressing persistent limitations in the geographical, disciplinary, and methodological assumptions of its dominant formations. It emerges, however, from an investment in the future of postcolonial studies and a commitment to its basic premise: namely, that literature and culture are fundamental to the response to structures of colonial and imperial domination. To a certain extent, postcolonial theory is a victim of its own success, not least because of the institutionalization of the insights that it has enabled. Now that these insights no longer seem new, it is hard to know what the field should address beyond its general commitments. Yet the renewal of popular anti-imperial energies across the globe provides an important opportunity to reassert the political and theoretical value of the postcolonial as a comparative, interdisciplinary, and oppositional paradigm. This collection makes a claim for what postcolonial theory can say through the work of scholars articulating what it still cannot or will not say. It explores ideas that a more aesthetically sophisticated postcolonial theory might be able to address, focusing on questions of visibility, performance, and literariness. Contributors highlight some of the shortcomings of current postcolonial theory in relation to contemporary political developments such as Zimbabwean land reform, postcommunism, and the economic rise of Asia. Finally, they address the disciplinary, geographical, and methodological exclusions from postcolonial studies through a detailed focus on new disciplinary directions (management studies, international relations, disaster studies), overlooked locations and perspectives (Palestine, Weimar Germany, the commons), and the necessity of materialist analysis for understanding both the contemporary world and world literary systems.

Theory of Literature

Theory of Literature

Author: Paul H. Fry

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2012-04-24

Total Pages: 389

ISBN-13: 0300183364

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Bringing his perennially popular course to the page, Yale University Professor Paul H. Fry offers in this welcome book a guided tour of the main trends in twentieth-century literary theory. At the core of the book's discussion is a series of underlying questions: What is literature, how is it produced, how can it be understood, and what is its purpose? Fry engages with the major themes and strands in twentieth-century literary theory, among them the hermeneutic circle, New Criticism, structuralism, linguistics and literature, Freud and fiction, Jacques Lacan's theories, the postmodern psyche, the political unconscious, New Historicism, the classical feminist tradition, African American criticism, queer theory, and gender performativity. By incorporating philosophical and social perspectives to connect these many trends, the author offers readers a coherent overall context for a deeper and richer reading of literature.


Book Synopsis Theory of Literature by : Paul H. Fry

Download or read book Theory of Literature written by Paul H. Fry and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2012-04-24 with total page 389 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bringing his perennially popular course to the page, Yale University Professor Paul H. Fry offers in this welcome book a guided tour of the main trends in twentieth-century literary theory. At the core of the book's discussion is a series of underlying questions: What is literature, how is it produced, how can it be understood, and what is its purpose? Fry engages with the major themes and strands in twentieth-century literary theory, among them the hermeneutic circle, New Criticism, structuralism, linguistics and literature, Freud and fiction, Jacques Lacan's theories, the postmodern psyche, the political unconscious, New Historicism, the classical feminist tradition, African American criticism, queer theory, and gender performativity. By incorporating philosophical and social perspectives to connect these many trends, the author offers readers a coherent overall context for a deeper and richer reading of literature.

The World in a Grain of Sand

The World in a Grain of Sand

Author: Nivedita Majumdar

Publisher: Verso Books

Published: 2021-05-25

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 1788737466

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Radical universalism vs postcolonial theory The World in a Grain of Sand offers a framework for reading literature from the global South that goes against the grain of dominant theories in cultural studies, especially, postcolonial theory. It critiques the valorization of the local in cultural theories typically accompanied by a rejection of universal categories - viewed as Eurocentric projections. But the privileging of the local usually amounts to an exercise in exoticization of the South. The book argues that the rejection of Eurocentric theories can be complemented by embracing another, richer and non-parochial form of universalism. Through readings of texts from India, Sri Lanka, Palestine and Egypt, the book shows that the fine grained engagement with culture, the mapping of ordinary lives not just as objects but subjects of their history, is embedded in much of postcolonial literature in a radical universalism - one that is rooted in local realities, but is able to unearth in them the needs, conflicts and desires that stretch across cultures and time. It is a universalism recognized by Marx and steeped in the spirit of anti-colonialism, but hostile to any whiff of exoticism.


Book Synopsis The World in a Grain of Sand by : Nivedita Majumdar

Download or read book The World in a Grain of Sand written by Nivedita Majumdar and published by Verso Books. This book was released on 2021-05-25 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Radical universalism vs postcolonial theory The World in a Grain of Sand offers a framework for reading literature from the global South that goes against the grain of dominant theories in cultural studies, especially, postcolonial theory. It critiques the valorization of the local in cultural theories typically accompanied by a rejection of universal categories - viewed as Eurocentric projections. But the privileging of the local usually amounts to an exercise in exoticization of the South. The book argues that the rejection of Eurocentric theories can be complemented by embracing another, richer and non-parochial form of universalism. Through readings of texts from India, Sri Lanka, Palestine and Egypt, the book shows that the fine grained engagement with culture, the mapping of ordinary lives not just as objects but subjects of their history, is embedded in much of postcolonial literature in a radical universalism - one that is rooted in local realities, but is able to unearth in them the needs, conflicts and desires that stretch across cultures and time. It is a universalism recognized by Marx and steeped in the spirit of anti-colonialism, but hostile to any whiff of exoticism.

The Postcolonial Orient

The Postcolonial Orient

Author: Vasant Kaiwar

Publisher: BRILL

Published: 2014-05-08

Total Pages: 435

ISBN-13: 9004270442

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In The Postcolonial Orient, Vasant Kaiwar presents a far-reaching analysis of the political, economic, and ideological cross-currents that have shaped and informed postcolonial studies preceding and following the 1989 moment of world history. The valences of the ‘post’ in postcolonialism are unfolded via some key historical-political postcolonial texts showing, inter alia, that they are replete with elements of Romantic Orientalism and the Oriental Renaissance. Kaiwar mobilises a critical body of classical and contemporary Marxism to demonstrate that far richer understandings of ‘Europe’ not to mention ‘colonialism’, ‘modernity’ and ‘difference’ are possible than with a postcolonialism captive to phenomenological-existentialism and post-structuralism, concluding that a narrative so enriched is indispensable for a transformative non-Eurocentric internationalism.


Book Synopsis The Postcolonial Orient by : Vasant Kaiwar

Download or read book The Postcolonial Orient written by Vasant Kaiwar and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2014-05-08 with total page 435 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Postcolonial Orient, Vasant Kaiwar presents a far-reaching analysis of the political, economic, and ideological cross-currents that have shaped and informed postcolonial studies preceding and following the 1989 moment of world history. The valences of the ‘post’ in postcolonialism are unfolded via some key historical-political postcolonial texts showing, inter alia, that they are replete with elements of Romantic Orientalism and the Oriental Renaissance. Kaiwar mobilises a critical body of classical and contemporary Marxism to demonstrate that far richer understandings of ‘Europe’ not to mention ‘colonialism’, ‘modernity’ and ‘difference’ are possible than with a postcolonialism captive to phenomenological-existentialism and post-structuralism, concluding that a narrative so enriched is indispensable for a transformative non-Eurocentric internationalism.

The Postcolonial Unconscious

The Postcolonial Unconscious

Author: Neil Lazarus

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2011-06-30

Total Pages: 311

ISBN-13: 1139499327

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The Postcolonial Unconscious is a major attempt to reconstruct the whole field of postcolonial studies. In this magisterial and, at times, polemical study, Neil Lazarus argues that the key critical concepts that form the very foundation of the field need to be re-assessed and questioned. Drawing on a vast range of literary sources, Lazarus investigates works and authors from Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and the Arab world, South, Southeast and East Asia, to reconsider them from a postcolonial perspective. Alongside this, he offers bold new readings of some of the most influential figures in the field: Fredric Jameson, Edward Said and Frantz Fanon. A tour de force of postcolonial studies, this book will set the agenda for the future, probing how the field has come to develop in the directions it has and why and how it can grow further.


Book Synopsis The Postcolonial Unconscious by : Neil Lazarus

Download or read book The Postcolonial Unconscious written by Neil Lazarus and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2011-06-30 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Postcolonial Unconscious is a major attempt to reconstruct the whole field of postcolonial studies. In this magisterial and, at times, polemical study, Neil Lazarus argues that the key critical concepts that form the very foundation of the field need to be re-assessed and questioned. Drawing on a vast range of literary sources, Lazarus investigates works and authors from Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and the Arab world, South, Southeast and East Asia, to reconsider them from a postcolonial perspective. Alongside this, he offers bold new readings of some of the most influential figures in the field: Fredric Jameson, Edward Said and Frantz Fanon. A tour de force of postcolonial studies, this book will set the agenda for the future, probing how the field has come to develop in the directions it has and why and how it can grow further.

The Postcolonial Challenge

The Postcolonial Challenge

Author: Couze Venn

Publisher: SAGE

Published: 2006-01-24

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 1446238431

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An outstanding contribution to our understanding of postcolonial theory and its engagement with significant changes within the contemporary world. Couze Venn forces us to rethink the very parameters of the post-colonial and suggests a new political economy for post-modern times. This critical engagement opens up the possibility to reimagine the world from its current narrow European strictures to a world full of alternative possibilities and modernities... This is a timely and ground breaking book that contributes to a much needed reconceptualisation of the postcolony. - Professor Pal Ahluwalia, Goldsmiths, University of London What is postcolonial studies? What are its achievements, strengths and weaknesses? This ground breaking book offers an essential guide to one of the most important issues of our time, with special emphasis on neo-liberalism within world poverty and the ′third world′. It clarifies: The territory of postcolonial studies How identity and postcolonialism relate The ties between postcolonialism and modernity New perspectives in the light of recent geo-political events Potential future developments in the subject.


Book Synopsis The Postcolonial Challenge by : Couze Venn

Download or read book The Postcolonial Challenge written by Couze Venn and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2006-01-24 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An outstanding contribution to our understanding of postcolonial theory and its engagement with significant changes within the contemporary world. Couze Venn forces us to rethink the very parameters of the post-colonial and suggests a new political economy for post-modern times. This critical engagement opens up the possibility to reimagine the world from its current narrow European strictures to a world full of alternative possibilities and modernities... This is a timely and ground breaking book that contributes to a much needed reconceptualisation of the postcolony. - Professor Pal Ahluwalia, Goldsmiths, University of London What is postcolonial studies? What are its achievements, strengths and weaknesses? This ground breaking book offers an essential guide to one of the most important issues of our time, with special emphasis on neo-liberalism within world poverty and the ′third world′. It clarifies: The territory of postcolonial studies How identity and postcolonialism relate The ties between postcolonialism and modernity New perspectives in the light of recent geo-political events Potential future developments in the subject.

An Introduction To Post-Colonial Theory

An Introduction To Post-Colonial Theory

Author: Peter Childs

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-06-06

Total Pages: 374

ISBN-13: 1317904001

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The first book of its kind in the field, this timely introduction to post- colonial theory offers lucid and accessible summaries of the major work of key theorists such as Frantz Fanon, Edward Said.Homi Bhabha and Gayatri Spivak. The Guide also Explores the lines of resistance against colonialism and highlights the theories of post-colonial identity that have been responsible for generating some of the most influential and challenging critical work of recent decades. Designed for undergraduates and postgraduates taking courses related to colonialisn or post-colonialism, the book summarieses the major topics and issues as well as covering the contributions of major and less familiar figures in the field.


Book Synopsis An Introduction To Post-Colonial Theory by : Peter Childs

Download or read book An Introduction To Post-Colonial Theory written by Peter Childs and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-06-06 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first book of its kind in the field, this timely introduction to post- colonial theory offers lucid and accessible summaries of the major work of key theorists such as Frantz Fanon, Edward Said.Homi Bhabha and Gayatri Spivak. The Guide also Explores the lines of resistance against colonialism and highlights the theories of post-colonial identity that have been responsible for generating some of the most influential and challenging critical work of recent decades. Designed for undergraduates and postgraduates taking courses related to colonialisn or post-colonialism, the book summarieses the major topics and issues as well as covering the contributions of major and less familiar figures in the field.

Deconstruction and the Postcolonial

Deconstruction and the Postcolonial

Author: Michael Syrotinski

Publisher: Liverpool University Press

Published: 2007-01-01

Total Pages: 145

ISBN-13: 1846310563

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Postcolonial studies, and the rich body of theory that it applies in its analyses, has transformed and unsettled the ways in which, across a whole range of disciplines, we think about notions such as subjectivity, national identity, globalization, history, language, literature or international politics. Until recently, the emphasis of the groundbreaking work being carried out in these areas has been almost exclusively within an Anglophone context, but increasingly the focus of postcolonial studies is shifting to a more comparative approach. One of the most intriguing developments in this shift.


Book Synopsis Deconstruction and the Postcolonial by : Michael Syrotinski

Download or read book Deconstruction and the Postcolonial written by Michael Syrotinski and published by Liverpool University Press. This book was released on 2007-01-01 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Postcolonial studies, and the rich body of theory that it applies in its analyses, has transformed and unsettled the ways in which, across a whole range of disciplines, we think about notions such as subjectivity, national identity, globalization, history, language, literature or international politics. Until recently, the emphasis of the groundbreaking work being carried out in these areas has been almost exclusively within an Anglophone context, but increasingly the focus of postcolonial studies is shifting to a more comparative approach. One of the most intriguing developments in this shift.