Introduction to Postcolonial Theory and Literature

1. Definition Of Postcolonial Literature

Colonialism:

Ellecke Bohemer, in her book Colonial and Postcolonial Literature defines colonialism as " settlement of territory, the exploitation or development of resources, and the attempt to govern the indigenous inhabitants of occupied lands" (p. 2) Note the emphasis on the settlement of land, the economic relationship is at the heart of colonialism, and the unequal relations of power which colonialism constructs.

Imperialism and the Other:

Postcolonial Literature:

“Postcolonial literatures” are also often variously termed as “new literatures”, “commonwealth literatures” or “world literatures”, and as these names indicate, they focus on the recent status of their history and the global spread of imperialism in its different forms. It incorporates the study of the writers and their literary works from the predominantly European settler communities, as well as writers belonging to those countries which were in the process of gaining their independence from British Rule, such as those from the African, Caribbean and South Asian nations. The origins of this branch of literature are plural and borrow from different disciplines which gave it an interdisciplinary nature and a diverse study according to its different societies, cultures, and contexts. 

Anglophone Postcolonial Literature:

The status quo of the English language as the global one, being the language of the Empire, implies that the English language and its literature became as a site of contest for the colonized, a means for them to challenge the cultural and ideological structures of the Empire. This is evident in the postcolonial writings of the mid twentieth century onwards, with the new assessments of the Empire’s legacies. Postcolonial writers from Indian, Caribbean, and African descent such as Mulk Raj Anand and Arundhati Roy, of Wilson Harris and Pauline Melville, of Chinua Achebe and Ama Ata Aidoo, often use a hybridized forms and structures of English as a means to convey their voices and cultures to the global readership and also to deconstruct the English language and its usage by infusing the markers of their native culture and language. 

2. 2-The Origins and Controversy over the Term

Postcolonial theory is a post-positivist theory set of different theories as it has developed out of four European traditions of thought: Marxism, psychoanalysis, post structuralism, and feminism. It is an academic discipline featuring methods of intellectual discourse that analyze, explain, and respond to the cultural legacies of colonialism and imperialism. This is a theory which is based upon aspects of colonialism and its effects which have persisted remarkably even after the dissolution of colonial dominance.

   Taken literally, it denotes the period after the end of colonialism with the premise that the era of colonial control is over for good and new, and a humanistic stage is beginning. Most ex-colonized nations involved in that traumatic experience of living under colonial rule are independent. They are still, in fact, under economic, political, ideological, and cultural dominance for their former European colonizers. So, the opponents to this term propose a more proper term Neo-colonialism/imperialism. It is worthy to mention the difference between colonialism and imperialism. Colonialism refers initially to the practice of planting and securing colonies for economic exploitation, and it was used primarily by the Europeans. Imperialism, on the other hand, is the attitudes, ideologies, and structures which sustain the practice of colonialism. Imperialism changes its form but the essence is the same. 

3. Aspects of Postcolonial Literature

1-The Concerns:

a) Reclaiming spaces and places: Colonialism was, above all, a means of claiming and exploiting foreign lands, resources, and people. Enslavement, indentured labor, and migration forced many indigenous populations to move from the places that they considered “home”. Postcolonial literature attempts to counteract their resulting alienation from their surroundings by restoring a connection between indigenous people and places through description, narration, and dramatization.

b) Asserting cultural integrity: During colonization, the indigenous cultures of those countries subjected to foreign rule were often sidelined, suppressed, and openly denigrated in favor of elevating the social and cultural preferences and conventions of the colonizers. In response, much postcolonial literature seeks to assert the richness and validity of indigenous cultures in an effort to restore pride in practices and traditions that were systematically degraded under colonialism.

c) Revising history:Colonizers often depicted their colonial subjects as existing “outside of history” in unchanging, timeless societies, unable to progress or develop without their intervention and assistance. In this way, they justified their actions, including violence against those who resisted colonial rule. Revising history to tell things from the perspective of those colonized is thus a major preoccupation of postcolonial writing.

Sources:

Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin. The Empire Writes Back. New York: Routledge, 1989.

3.1. The Characteristics

a) Resistant descriptions Postcolonial writers use detailed descriptions of indigenous people, places, and practices to counteract or “resist” the stereotypes, inaccuracies, and generalizations which the colonizers circulated in educational, legal, political, and social texts and settings.

b) Appropriation of the colonizers’ language Although many colonized countries are home to multiple indigenous languages—in India, for example, more than 12 languages exist alongside English—many postcolonial writers choose to write in the colonizers’ “tongue”. However, authors such as Arundhati Roy deliberately play with English, remolding it to reflect the rhythms and syntax of indigenous languages, and inventing new words and styles to demonstrate mastery of a language that was, in a sense, forced upon them.

c) Reworking colonial art-forms Similarly, authors such as Arundhati Roy rework European art-forms like the novel to reflect indigenous modes of invention and creation. They reshape imported colonial art-forms to incorporate the style, structure, and themes of indigenous modes of creative expression, such as oral poetry and dramatic performances.

Sources:

Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin. The Empire Writes Back. New York: Routledge, 1989.