Topic Five Postcolonial Criticism_rev 后殖民主義批評

1、Postcolonial CriticismEuropean DominationBy 19th Century: British Empire emerged as largest imperial powerBy 20th Century: British Empire ruled of the earths surface20th Century British EmpireIndiaAustraliaNew ZealandCanadaIrelandSignificant holdings in: Africa West Indies South America Middle East

2、Southeast AsiaCOLONIALAFRICABritish Empire DominationDomination continued until the end of WWII India gained independence in 1947 By 1980, Britain had lost all but a few of its colonial holdings Hong Kong in 1997 Australia in1999Postcolonial CriticismDefines formerly colonized peoples as “any popula

3、tion that has been subjected to the political domination of another population.”Postcolonial IdentityPostcolonial cultures merger & antagonism between the culture of the colonized & that of the colonizer.Cultural colonizationColonialist ideology Eurocentrism (Universalism)Postcolonial CriticismAnaly

4、zes literature produced by cultures that developed in response to colonial domination, from the first point of colonial contact to the present. Formerly known as “commonwealth literature”Some literature written by colonizers. Rudyard Kipling Alan PatonMuch more written by colonized and formerly colo

5、nized people. Chinua Achebe Wole SoyinkaPostcolonial IdentityBritish intrusion permeated government education cultural values daily livesPostcolonial IdentityIndication of the residual effect of colonial domination on formerly colonized cultures speak English (in addition to the local languages they

6、 may use at home) write in English use English schools and universities government business Examples: South Africans Australian aboriginalsCULTURAL COLONIZATIONThe inculcation of a British system of government and education, British culture, and British values that denigrate the culture, morals, and

7、 even physical appearance of formerly subjugated peoples.Postcolonial IdentityPsychological and social interplay between native, indigenous, pre-colonial cultures what British culture imposed upon that culturePostcolonial IdentityDECOLONIZATION colonizers retreated and left the lands they had invade

8、d often has been confined largely to the removal of British military forces and government officialsPostcolonial IdentityEx-colonials were left with a psychological “inheritance” of a negative self-image alienation from their own indigenous cultures, which had been forbidden or devalued for so long

9、that much pre-colonial culture has been lost.Colonialist IdeologyBelieved their own Anglo-European culture was civilized, sophisticated, or metropolitan.Based on the colonizers assumption of their own superiority, which they contrasted with the alleged inferiority of native (indigenous) peoples, the

10、 original inhabitants of the lands they invaded.Colonialist IdeologyNative people defined as savage, backward, underdeveloped.Colonizers believed their whole culture was more highly advanced because their technology was more highly developed.They ignored or swept aside the religions, customs, and co

11、des of behavior of the people they subjugated.Colonialist IdeologyCOLONIZERS:“Center of the world”Proper “self”“Us”CivilizedCOLONIZED:Marginalized“Other” (different, therefore, inferior)“Them”SavagesEUROCENTRISMThe use of European culture as the standard by which all other cultures are negatively co

12、ntrasted.EurocentrismUNIVERSALISM Judging literature in terms of its “universality” To be considered great, literary text had to have “universal” characters and themes That “universality” depended upon resemblance to European ideas, ideals, and experiences. Who were the judges? British, European, an

13、d later American cultural standard-bearers.EurocentrismFirst World Britain, Europe, the United StatesSecond World White populations of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and southern Africa; former Soviet blocThird World Developing nations such as India, Africa, Central and South America, and Southeast

14、 AsiaFourth World Indigenous populations subjugated by white settlers and governed by the majority culture which surrounds them: Native Americans and aboriginal Australians Colonialist IdeologyPervasive force in the British schools established in the colonies to inculcate British values and culture

15、in the indigenous people.Forestalled rebellion (Its difficult to rebel against a system or a people one has been programmed, over several generations, to be superior.) Colonialist IdeologyResulted in “colonial subjects” (colonized people who did not resist colonial subjugation because they believed

16、in British superiority and, therefore, in their own inferiority.)Many tried to imitate the colonizers (mimicry) Dress - Behavior Speech - LifestyleColonialist IdeologyDOUBLE CONSCIOUSNESS A way of perceiving the world that is divided between two antagonistic cultures Produces an unstable sense of se

17、lf (eg., diaspora) Feeling of being “caught” between cultures Leads to UNHOMELINESS Not feeling at home in your own home “psychological refugees”De-colonizationRejection of the colonialist ideology which defined them as inferior.Reclaim pre-colonial past.Can the colonization be totally rejected?Can

18、the pre-colonial past be reclaimed?De-colonizationKenyan writer Ngugi wa Thiongo Writes in own local languageNigerian writer Chinua Achebe, Writes in English “For me there is no other choice. I have been given the language and I intend to use it.” (Morning Yet on Creation Day 62)De-colonizationArgum

19、ents for Using English:English provides a common language for the various indigenous people within Third- and Fourth-World nations to communicate with one another.English facilitates the emergence of those nations into global politics and economics.Problems with De-colonizationDesiring to reclaim a

20、pre-colonial past is not that easy.Much pre-colonial culture has been lost over many generations of colonial domination.Even had there been no colonization, the ancient culture would have changed by now: no culture stands still.Most cultures are changed by cross-cultural contact, often through milit

21、ary invasion, eg., Ancient Celtic culture was changed by Romans who occupied British Isles Anglo-Saxon culture was changed by the many generations of French rule which followed the Norman conquest.NATIVISM or NATIONALISM Attempt to eliminate Western influences and return to an emphasis on indigenous

22、 culturePostcolonial DebatesFocus on INVADER COLONIES Colonies established among non-white peoples through the force of British arms India Africa West Indies South AmericaPostcolonial DebatesGeneral consensus that the United States and Ireland are not postcolonial nations because U.S. has been indep

23、endent for so long Ireland has been integral part of British culture for so longPostcolonial DebatesMuch debate among postcolonial critics concerning whether or not the literature of white settler colonies should be included. Canada Australia New Zealand Southern AfricaPostcolonial DebatesArgument i

24、s that the white settler cultures share a tremendous common ground with Britain Race Language Culture Treated differently from the non-white colonies Self-government Granted Dominion status, political autonomy w/in British CommonwealthPostcolonial DebatesPostcolonial criticism can be used to interpr

25、et literature in the Western literary canon; therefore, some theorists are concerned that it will become just one more way to read the same canonized authors read for years, rather than a method that brings the works of 3rd-and 4th-World writers to the front.Postcolonial WritersNadine Gordimer (Sout

26、h Africa)The Nobel Prize in Literature 1991 was awarded to Nadine Gordimer who through her magnificent epic writing has - in the words of Alfred Nobel - been of very great benefit to humanity.Postcolonial WritersWole Soyinka (Nigeria)The Nobel Prize in Literature 1986 was awarded to Wole Soyinka who

27、 in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence.Postcolonial WritersDerek Walcott (St. Lucia, West Indies)The Nobel Prize in Literature 1992 was awarded to Derek Walcott for a poetic oeuvre of great luminosity, sustained by a historical vision, the outcome o

28、f a multicultural commitment.Postcolonial WritersSalman Rushdie (India)Anglo-Indian novelist, who uses in his works tales from various genres - fantasy, mythology, religion, oral tradition. Rushdies narrative technique has connected his books to magic realism, which includes such English-language au

29、thors as Peter Carey, Angela Carter, E.L. Doctorow, John Fowles, Mark Helprin or Emma Tennant. Postcolonial WritersSir Vidiadhar Surajprasad Naipaul (England)The Nobel Prize in Literature 2001 was awarded to V. S. Naipaul for having united perceptive narrative and incorruptible scrutiny in works tha

30、t compel us to see the presence of suppressed histories.Postcolonial WritersToni Morrison (Lorain, OH, USA )The Nobel Prize in Literature 1993 was awarded to Toni Morrison who in novels characterized by visionary force and poetic import, gives life to an essential aspect of American reality.Postcolo

31、nial WritersJohn M. Coetzee (South Africa)The Nobel Prize in Literature 2003 was awarded to J. M. Coetzee who in innumerable guises portrays the surprising involvement of the outsider.Postcolonial WritersJamaica Kincaid (Antigua, West Indies)Jamaica Kincaid (born May 25, 1949, as Elaine Cynthia Pott

32、er Richardson) is an American novelist, gardener, and gardening writer. She lives with her family in North Bennington, Vermont, during the summers and teaches at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California, during the academic year.Postcolonial WritersChinua Achebe (Nigeria)The novelist Chinu

33、a Achebe (born 1930), a fine stylish and an astute social critic, is one of the best-known African writers in the West and his novels are often assigned in university courses. Postcolonial WritersNgugi wa Thiongo (Kenya)Ngugi wa ThiongoDistinguished ProfessorUniversity of California, IrvineComparati

34、ve Literature and English279 Humanities Instructional BuildingIrvine, CA 92697-2651Postcolonial WritersDerek Walcott (St. Lucia, West Indies)The Nobel Prize in Literature 1992 was awarded to Derek Walcott for a poetic oeuvre of great luminosity, sustained by a historical vision, the outcome of a mul

35、ticultural commitment.Postcolonial WritersMichael Ondaatjie (Sri Lanka & Canada)Michael Ondaatje is probably best known for his work The English Patient (1992) which was adapted to an Academy Award winning movie. He started with poetry in 1967 publishing Dainty Monsters. Postcolonial WritersLawrence

36、 Chua (Malaysia & U.S.)Lawrence Chua was born in Penang, Malaysia in 1966, the oldest son in his family. Both of his parents come from working class families. His mother was an educator and then a journalist in Southeast Asia in the 1960s, and his father was a gym teacher.Themes of Postcolonial Lite

37、ratureInitial encounter with the colonizer and the disruption of indigenous cultureJourney of the European outsider through an unfamiliar wilderness with a native guideOthering and colonial oppressionThemes of Postcolonial LiteratureMimicry (attempt of colonized to imitate colonizer)Exile (experienc

38、e of being an outsider in ones own land)Post-independence exuberance followed by disillusionmentThemes of Postcolonial LiteratureStruggle for individual and collective cultural identity and related themes of Alienation Unhomeliness Double consciousness HybridityThemes of Postcolonial LiteratureNeed for continuity with a pre-colonial pastSelf-definition of the political futureHomi BhabhaHe offers a new way to analyze world literature:we might study what world literature tells us about the personal experience of people whom history has ignored, eg.,Gordimers My Sons Story and Morrisons