Having worked with Postcolonial Theory for well over a decade now, I recognize that not all postcolonialists are on the same page when it comes to the theoretical definition or practice.
However, as a teacher it is important to me both to teach my students the history of Postcolonial Theory with all its permutations and to articulate my own approach as clearly as possible. To that end, over the past few years I have proposed a flexible foundation for postcolonial theorists that more closely represents global realities than the former definition allowed1.I use a three-point construct, with the points representing the ontological, contextual, and textual components—all of which will be explained below. I also attempt to show the relevance of postcolonialism to understanding root causes of world problems and possible solutions. If we look at a brief history of postcolonial studies, we can appreciate the way in which the theory and practice have evolved. Though colleges and universities are portrayed in the media, especially by conservative voices, as being hotbeds for radicals to push societal change, the truth is that the academy is slow to embrace change.
On the positive side of this issue, we might note that academics take time to contemplate and analyze, to reflect upon all the ramifications change brings. On the negative side, we might note that the academy remains deeply hierarchical with older, established voices holding sway in decision-making at administrative and curricular levels. Whatever the explanation for the reality, ideas seem to fester for some 10-15 years before bringing about real adaptation. Postcolonial studies certainly is representative of such an academic evolution.In 1961 Frantz Fanon published The Wretched of the Earth (a follow-up to his Black Skin, White Masks of 1952). Fanon, a Black native of Martinique who was trained in Psychiatry in France, experienced firsthand the disconnect between his personal identity as a Black Frenchman and the racism he encountered in the White French society during his time in Paris.
Time he spent working in Algeria, Tunisia and Ghana furthered his examination of racism and colonialism. His books reveal the ugly face of a binary world and call for a radical, violent overthrow of the racism explicit in colonialism.The two works he produced before his premature death from cancer were translated into English over the next decade and provided the fire that initiated what would become postcolonial theory in the hands of academics. Some 17 years after the appearance of The Wretched of the Earth, Edward Said, born in Jerusalem when it was still part of Palestine and acclaimed scholar and professor of Comparative Literature for some years at Columbia University, under the influence of Fanon’s writing produced what some may think of as the first academic book of postcolonial studies, Orientalism, in 1978.In his book, he examines notions of Orientalism (the different, the exotic, the mysterious but not quite civilized) and its combination of racism and colonialism as it appears in literature, providing a telling story of the postcolonial situation. From this point forward, scholars begin to engage with the concepts of Fanon and Said, with important voices like Homi Bhaba and Sara Suleri emerging in the dialogue.
Another eleven years along the road, Ashcroft, Griffith and Tiffins edit the first volume of essays by postcolonial theorists, The Empire Writes Back, in 1989. At this point, enough scholars have begun working in the field for the area of study to start showing up in graduate school seminars. At my own university (University of North Texas), I was exposed to the approach in the early 90s and found it most applicable to my work in Irish Studies, choosing it has my foremost applied theory before earning my doctorate in 1994.By the turn to the 21st century, it had become clear to practitioners that the field needed rethinking, prompting Goldberg and Quayson to gather together a group of theorists who would do just that in their 2002 volume, Relocating Postcolonialism. It was for this volume that I attempted to clarify my own definition based on global realities and my own academic practice. An early definition held sway for quite some time but has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years.
In a 1988 essay, Helen Tiffins, one of the editors of The Empire Writes Back, stipulated postcolonialism as “writing and reading practices grounded in some form of colonial experience occurring outside Europe but as a consequence of European expansion into and exploitation of ‘the other’ worlds” (my emphasis). The notion of “post” also was accepted as meaning after independence is gained from the colonizer. Along with this definition and understanding of “post,” theorists privileged the novel as the postcolonial genre, given its prominence in Twentieth Century literature.As I worked with postcolonial texts and considered global instances of colonization, I became increasingly convinced that the old definition and parameters established had serious problems. The first two problems I termed “continentalization” and “colorization.
” It is wrong to imagine that only Europeans have colonized. This entirely leaves out such colonizers as Japan (Korea), China (Korea, Tibet, etc. ), perhaps the former Soviet Union (Eastern Europe) if we consider its Western/Eastern combined culture, even some African nations on other African nations.The former definition would also leave Ireland, as a European nation that has been colonized for over 800 years (Northern Ireland remains part of the UK) completely out of the equation. The issue of “colorization” assumes a simplistic binary situation of white on black or people of color.
However, again, if we look above, this also does not hold true. Most importantly race is an important construct of the colonizer, and those engaged in postcolonialism should always interrogate that construct rather than uphold it by using its terms and oversimplifications.When it comes to the reference for “post,” we certainly should recognize that the identity conflicts created by postcolonialism begin after the point of colonization, and thus this should be its reference rather than after the empire grants independence to the formerly colonized. This shift is particularly reasonable if we consider when Fanon, perhaps the father of postcolonial studies, was writing and the state of the countries and cultures he examined at the time of his writing.Finally, the focus on the novel ignores the orality of poetry (often an articulation of native resistance) and the communal nature of drama (the place for staging identity and its conflicts). Given the problems indicated, I propose a definition that I think better accounts for the realities and the variations of the postcolonial condition, opening up the field for more meaningful application of the theory.
I propose a flexible foundation that maintains three points of intersection for a base connecting ontological, contextual and textual concerns.The irst point, the ontological, focuses on questions of identity: Who am I? How did I come to be who I am? To whom am I connected? While all people grapple with these questions, the postcolonial condition intensifies the struggle to come to some understanding of identity. The second point of intersection, the contextual, provides the phrasing that alone could replace the old definition because it focuses on the socio-political situation. I describe the contextual situation as the socio-political domination of a native people by an encroaching alien power.This description honors all those caught in the net of the postcolonial condition, regardless of place or race.
The third point of intersection, the textual, focuses on a three-sided storytelling that deals more with image and experience than questionable facts. Because people caught up in the postcolonial situation may see things radically different given whether they are natives, the colonizing government, or settlers that become buffers between the native resistance and the governing colonizer so facts are difficult to corroborate and may become meaningless next to the power of image and experience.Because of this reality, there are always at least three sides to the postcolonial story: the native history, the state construct, and individual investigation that interrogates both the others. Only by hearing all three parts of the story can we achieve greater understanding and can the author speak a more complete identity. Attending to the complexity of the 3-sided text allows us to hear voices too long silenced and to act upon what we hear.
Herein lies some hope for our future. Because I find any theory without praxis somewhat empty, I look for ways in which postcolonial studies can have an active effect on our world.In so doing, though admittedly idealistic (but having ideals provides a goal and the creation of a path to attain it), I am conscious and speak of the hope represented by postcolonial studies when employing the broader, flexible foundation as the definition of the theory. Postcolonial studies can help us confront the past to heal old wounds by finding a voice in the present for all who had been formerly marginalized. For some of us, and I am one, if we take postcolonial studies and what we learn seriously, we visualize creating a future that is postnational, dignifying individuals in community.
Though this may not mean the dissolving of nations or national identities (which some might find scary or abhorrent and could lead to new, unforeseen problems), it would mean ridding our world of rabid nationalism that leads to borders and wars. Rather, we could learn to delight in diversity and in multiple identities. Postcolonial studies, connect well with Peace Studies. After all, most of the hot spots in our world are inherited from colonialism—the Middle East, Africa, Northern Ireland, parts of the Americas.The importance of telling stories has been recognized in the attempts to forge peace and community, such as during the Truth and Reconciliation Hearings in South Africa.
Indeed, as a literature professor in the field, I find the role of literature particularly applicable to both Postcolonial and Peace Studies. Personal stories humanize the history. As feminists taught us years ago, the personal is indeed political. While facts are questionable, images write on the mind and heart. That is why film, murals, music, and literature remain powerful tools of expression and change.
That is why I know my theory is praxis.
