Post-colonialism

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Post-colonialism (also known as post-colonial theory) refers to a set of theories in philosophy, film and literature that grapple with the legacy of colonial rule. As a literary theory or critical approach it deals with literature produced in countries that were once, or are now, colonies of other countries. It may also deal with literature written in or by citizens of colonizing countries that takes colonies or their peoples as its subject matter. Postcolonial theory became part of the critical toolbox in the 1970s, and many practitioners take Edward Said's book Orientalism to be the theory's founding work. Post-colonialism deals with many issues for societies that have undergone colonialism: the dilemmas of developing a national identity in the wake of colonial rule; the ways in which writers from colonized countries attempt to articulate and even celebrate their cultural identities and reclaim them from the colonizers; the ways knowledge of colonized people have served the interests of colonizers, and how knowledge of subordinate people is produced and used; and the ways in which the literature of the colonial powers is used to justify colonialism through the perpetuation of images of the colonized as inferior. The creation of binary oppositions structure the way we view others. In the case of colonialism, distinctions were made between the oriental and the westerner (one being emotional, the other rational). This opposition was used to justify a destiny to rule on behalf of the colonizer, or 'white man's burden'.

Colonized peoples responded to the colonial legacy by writing back to the center. This came about as indigenous peoples began to write their own histories, their own legacy, using the colonizers' language (usually English) for their own purposes. ^[1]. As post-colonialist theory has impacted communities of indigenous peoples it has produced a process of indigenous decolonization.

Attempts at coming up with a single definition of postcolonial theory have proved controversial, and some writers have strongly critiqued the concept, which is embedded in identity politics.

As suggested by its name, postcolonialism is about dealing with the legacy of colonialism. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly the most prominent form this has taken to date has been in the cultural realm, especially with respect to identity politics and literary studies. Thus, the most common way the term has been used is in reference to a genre of writing and cultural politics, usually by the authors from the countries which were previously colonised. All postcolonialist theorists admit that colonialism continues to affect the former colonies after political independence.

1 Middle East, Post-colonialism and Identity
2 Founding works on post-colonialism
3 Other important works
4 References
5 See also
6 External links
7 References

[edit] Middle East, Post-colonialism and Identity

Within the last decade , Middle Eastern studies and research have produced several works which focus on the effects of the colonial past on the internal and external political, social, cultural and economic situation of contemporary Middle Eastern countries. See, for example, Raphael Israeli,"Is Jordan Palestine?" in Efraim Karsh and P R Kumaraswamy (eds.), Israel, Hashemites and the Palestinians: The Fateful Triangle (London: Frank Cass, 2003), pp.49-66 and Nazih Ayubi, "Overstating the Arab State" (Bodmin: I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd, 2001) particularly pp 86-123
A particular focus of attention has been the issue of western discourses on the Middle East and identity formation, or lack thereof: ^[2]

“... most countries of the Middle East, suffered from the fundamental problems over their national identity. More than three-quarters of a century after the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire from which most of them emerged, these states have been unable to define, project, and maintain a national identity that is both inclusive and representative.” ^[3]

As highlighted by the above quote, independence and the end of colonialism has not meant the end of social fragmentations and conflicts within the Middle East.

As Larbi Sadiki understood and noted in the book The Search for Arab Democracy: Discourses and Counter-Discourses (2004); because borders have been drawn up by European powers, that did not take into account people, old tribal boundaries and history, the Middle East’s present-day “identity problem” can be traced back to imperialism and colonialism. Indeed, ‘in places like Iraq and Jordan, leaders of the new state were brought in from the outside, tailored to suit colonial interests and commitments. Likewise, most states in the Persian Gulf were handed over to those who could protect and safeguard imperial interests in the post-withdrawal phase,’ ^[4] Thus in the Middle East, there has been difficulties in defining national identity – at least partly because state boundaries has been defined by colonial boundaries. Except ‘with notable exceptions like Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, most [countries]...had to [re-]invent, their historical roots’ after colonialism. Therefore,‘like its colonial predecessor, postcolonial identity owes its existence to force’. ^[5]

Some scholars criticise and/or question the recent post-colonial focus on identity. Bin 'Abd al-'Ali, a Moroccan scholar argues that what is seen in contemporary Middle Eastern studies is 'a pathological obsession with...identity'^[6]Nevertheless, scholars such as Kumaraswamy and Sadiki argues that the problem of the lack of identity formation in the Middle East is widespread and that identity is an important aspect of understanding the politics of the contemporary Middle East. Whether the countries are Islamic regimes like Iran, republican regimes like Egypt, Syria, and Algeria, quasi-liberal monarchies like Jordan and Bahrain, democracies as Israel and Turkey, or evolving democracies like Iraq and Palestinian areas, ‘the Middle Eastern region suffers from the inability to recognize, integrate, and reflect its ethno-cultural diversity.’ ^[7]
Ayubi (2001) questions whether what Bin 'Abd al-'Ali described as an obsession with identity may be explained by 'the absence of a championing social class?'^[8]

[edit] Founding works on post-colonialism

A. A. Phillips: "The Cultural Cringe" (1950)
Frantz Fanon: The Wretched of the Earth (1961)
Albert Memmi: The Colonizer and the Colonized (1965)
Frantz Fanon: Black Skin, White Masks (1967)
Kwame Nkrumah: Consciencism (1970)
Aimé Césaire: Discourse on Colonialism (1972)
Terry Smith: "The Provincialism Problem" (1974)
Edward Said: Orientalism (1978)

[edit] Other important works

Ashis Nandy. The Intimate Enemy: Loss and Recovery of Self Under Colonialism. (1983)
Ashis Nandy. Traditions, Tyranny, and Utopias: Essays in the Politics of Awareness (1987).
Benita Parry: Delusions and Discoveries (1983)
Gayatri Spivak, "Can the Subaltern Speak?" (1988)
Derek Walcott: Omeros (1990)
Homi Bhabha: The Location of Culture (1994)
David Bosch, Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission (1991)
Edward W. Said, Culture and Imperialism (1993)
Ngugi Wa Thiong'o, (1986) "Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature"
Bill Ashcroft The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-Colonial Literature (1990)
Robert J.C. Young Postcolonialism: An Historical Introduction (2001)
Trinh T. Minh-ha, "Infinite Layers/Third World?" (1989)
Chandra Talpade Mohanty, "Under Western Eyes" (1986)
Uma Narayan, Dislocating Cultures (1997), and Contesting Cultures"(1997)
Anne McClintock, "The angel of progress: pitfalls of the term 'postcolonialism'" Colonial Discourse/Postcolonial Theory, edited by M. Baker, P. Hulme and M. Iverson (1994)
Bartholomew Dean and Jerome Levi eds., At the Risk of Being Heard: Indigenous Rights, Identity, and Postcolonial States (2003) University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-06736-2 [1][2]
Achille Mbembe, "On the postcolony", edited by The Regents of the University of California (2000)
Declan Kiberd, "Inventing Ireland" (1995)
Ernesto "Che" Guevara: Colonialism is Doomed

[edit] References

^ Read Bill Ashcroft, The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-Colonial Literature (1990) for more information
^ Sadiki, L (2004) The Search for Arab Democracy: Discourses and Counter-Discourses India: C. Hurst & Co. Ltd
^ Kumaraswamy, P, R (March 2006) “Who am I?: The Identity Crisis in the Middle East” The Middle East Review of International Affairs Volume 10, No. 1, Article 5, p 1
^ Kumaraswamy, P, R (March 2006) “Who am I?: The Identity Crisis in the Middle East” The Middle East Review of International Affairs Volume 10, No. 1, Article 5, p 1
^ Sadiki, L (2004) The Search for Arab Democracy: Discourses and Counter-Discourses India: C. Hurst & Co. Ltd p 122
^ Bin 'Abd al-'Ali quoted in Nazih Ayubi, "Overstating the Arab State" (Bodmin: I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd, 2001)p 148
^ Kumaraswamy, P, R (March 2006) “Who am I?: The Identity Crisis in the Middle East” The Middle East Review of International Affairs Volume 10, No. 1, Article 5, p 1
^ Nazih Ayubi, "Overstating the Arab State" (Bodmin: I.B. Tauris & Co Ltd, 2001)p 148