Research Guides
Literary Research: Postcolonial Theory
Literary Theory and Criticism
What is Postcolonial Theory?
"A theoretical approach to analyzing the literature produced in countries that were once colonies, especially of European powers such as Britain, France, and Spain. Postcolonial theory also looks at the broader interactions between European nations and the societies they colonized by dealing with issues such as identity (including gender, race, and class), language, representation, and history. Because native languages and culture were replaced or superseded by European traditions in colonial societies, part of the postcolonialist project is reclamation. Acknowledging the effect of colonialism’s aftermath—its language, discourse, and cultural institutions—has led to an emphasis on hybridity, or the mingling of cultural signs and practices between colonizer and colonized."
Brief Overviews:
- Postcolonial Studies (Literary Theory Handbook)
- Postcolonial Theory (A Companion to Literary Theory)
- Postcolonial Theory (Oxford Research Encyclopedias)
- Race and Postcolonial Studies (Bloomsbury Handbook of Literary and Cultural Theory)
- Race and Postcoloniality (Routledge Companion to Critical and Cultural Theory)
Notable Scholars:
- Bhabha, Homi K. “Democracy De-realized.” Diogenes, vol. 50, no. 1, 2003, pp. 27–35.
- Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. Routledge, 2004.
- Bhabha, Homi K. "The Other Question: Difference, Discrimination and the Discourse of Colonialism." In Barker, Francis, et al. Literature Politics & Theory. Routledge, 2002.
- Césaire, Aimé, et al. The complete poetry of Aimé Césaire. Translated by Clayton Eshleman, Bilingual edition., Wesleyan University Press, 2017.
- Césaire, Aimé. Discourse on Colonialism. Translated by Joan Pinkham, Monthly Review Press, 2000.
- Césaire, Aimé. Return to My Native Land. Translated by John Berger and Anna Bostock, First Archipelago books edition., Archipelago Books, 2013.
Cyril Lionel Robert (CLR) James
- James, C. L. R. Beyond a Boundary : 50th Anniversary Edition. Duke University Press Books, 2013.
- James, C. L. R. (Cyril Lionel Robert). The Black Jacobins : Toussaint L’Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution. Second edition revised., Vintage Books, 1989.
- James, C. L. R. (Cyril Lionel Robert). State Capitalism and World Revolution. [New ed.]., Charles H. Kerr, 1986.
- Lamming, George. In the Castle of My Skin. University of Michigan Press, 1991.
- Lamming, George. The George Lamming Reader : the Aesthetics of Decolonisation. Edited by Anthony Bogues, Ian Randle Publishers, 2011.
- Lamming, George. The Pleasures of Exile. University of Michigan Press, 1992.
- Said, Edward W. Orientalism. Vintage Books, 1979.
- Said, Edward W., et al. The Selected Works of Edward Said, 1966-2006. Edited by Moustafa Bayoumi and Andrew (Andrew N.) Rubin. Vintage Books, 2019.
Bill Schwarz
- Schwarz, Bill., et al. West Indian Intellectuals in Britain. 1st ed., Manchester University Press, 2004.
- Schwarz, Bill. The White Man’s World. 1st ed., Oxford University Press, 2011.
- Hall, Stuart, and Bill Schwarz. Familiar Stranger: A Life Between Two Islands. 1st ed., Duke University Press, 2017.
- Senghor, Léopold S. “Qu’est-ce que la négritude?” Études françaises (Montreal), vol. 3, no. 1, 1967, pp. 3–20, https://doi.org/10.7202/036251ar.
- Senghor, Leopold S., and Melvin Dixon. “Elegy of Midnight.” Callaloo, vol. 24, no. 3, 2001, pp. 890–91, https://doi.org/10.1353/cal.2001.0211.
- Senghor, Léopold S., and Melvin Dixon. “Letter to a Poet: To Aimé Césaire.” Callaloo, vol. 13, no. 1, 1990, pp. 14–15, https://doi.org/10.2307/2931591.
- Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. A Critique of Postcolonial Reason: Toward a History of the Vanishing Present. Harvard University Press, 1999.
- Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty, et al. The Spivak Reader: Selected Works of Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak. Routledge, 1996.
Introductions & Anthologies
The Cambridge Companion to Postcolonial Literary StudiesA lucid introduction and overview of one of the most important strands in recent literary theory and cultural studies. The volume aims to introduce readers to key concepts, methods, theories, thematic concerns, and contemporary debates in the field.
The Empire Writes BackThe experience of colonization and the challenges of a post-colonial world have produced an explosion of new writing in English. This diverse and powerful body of literature has established a specific practice of post-colonial writing in cultures as various as India, Australia, the West Indies and Canada, and has challenged both the traditional canon and dominant ideas of literature and culture.
Postcolonialism: A Very Short IntroductionPostcolonialism explores the political, social, and cultural effects of decolonization, continuing the anti-colonial deconstruction of western dominance. This Very Short Introduction discusses both the history and key debates of postcolonialism, and considers its importance as a means of changing the way we think about the world.
Postcolonial Theory: A Critical Introduction Published twenty years ago, Leela Gandhi's Postcolonial Theory was a landmark description of the field of postcolonial studies in theoretical terms that set its intellectual context alongside poststructuralism, postmodernism, Marxism, and feminism... The revised edition of this classic work reaffirms its status as a useful starting point for readers new to the field and as a provocative account that opens up possibilities for debate.
Also see other recent eBooks discussing or using postcolonial theory in literature and scholar-recommended sources on postcolonial theory, Edward Said and Homi K. Bhabha via Oxford Bibliographies.
Definition from: "Postcolonial Theory." Glossary of Poetic Terms. Poetry Foundation.(24 July 2023)