Transcript Postcolonial Criticism

Postcolonial Criticism
and Some Relevant
Theoretical Concepts
From Beginning Theory
Postcolonialism
► Emerged
in the 1990’s
► Undermines universalist claims
► Universal claims disregard difference
Regional
National
Cultural
Social
► White Eurocentric norms should not be privileged
To Achieve Postcolonial Perspective
► First
step for the “colonized” is to reclaim
their own past
► i.e.. History did not begin with the
Europeans
► Second step is to erode colonialist ideology
that devalued their past
Orientalism (continued)
► Filled
with anonymous masses of people
(not individuals)
► Actions determined by instinct (lust, terror,
fury, etc.) vs. logic
► Their reactions are determined by racial
considerations rather than individual
circumstance
Ground Breaking Work
Said’s Orientalism
► East is seen as “other”; inferior to the West
► East is portrayed as projection of negative
aspects
cruelty, sensuality, decadence,
laziness, etc.
► Yet East is also portrayed as exotic,
mystical, seductive
► Edward
Characteristics of
Postcolonial Criticism
1. An awareness of representation of nonEuropeans as exotic or ‘Other’
2. Concern with language
Some conclude the colonizer's language is
permanently tainted, to write in it involves
acquiescence in colonial structures
Characteristics of
Postcolonial Criticism
(cont.)
3. Emphasis on identity as doubled or
unstable (identify with colonizer and
colonized)
4. Stress on cross cultural interactions
Stages of Postcolonial Criticism
► Phase
1: Analyze white representation of
colonial countries…uncover bias
► Phase
2: Postcolonial writers explore
selves and society
(The empire writes back)
What Postcolonial Critics Do
► Reject
claims of universalism
► Examine representation of other cultures
► Show how literature is silent on matters of
imperialism and colonialism
► Foreground questions of diversity and cultural
difference
► Celebrate ‘cultural polyvancy’ (belonging to more
than one culture)
► Assert that marginality, plurality and ‘Otherness’
are sources of energy and potential change
Alberto Memmi – The Colonizer
and the Colonized
► Memmi
describes this work as “portraits of
the two protagonists of the colonial drama
and the relationship that binds them”
 Three factors typify the colonizer:Profit , privilege and usurpation
 “Colonizer who refuses” and “colonizer who
accepts”
 The colonizer questions the validity of his
own identity.
The Colonizer
 Three
factors typify the colonizer:Profit , privilege and usurpation
 “Colonizer who refuses” and “colonizer who
accepts”
 The colonizer questions the validity of his
own identity.
Colonized


The colonized becomes “divorced from reality”.
The colonizer controls the mean of cultural production like
education. The colonized come to believe that the
colonizer’s culture is inherently superior.

The colonized are denied of all their human rights. They
are treated like animals.

But Memmi believes that the colonial system is
fundamentally unstable and will lead to its own
destruction, due to mere rigidity of the system.
Colonizer
Portrait of the
Colonized
Does the colonial
Exist?
The colonial who
refuses
The colonial who
accepts
Colonized
Portrait of the
Colonized
Mythical portrait
of
the colonized
Situation of the
colonized
The two answers
of
the colonized
Hegemony
The Italian Marxist Gramsci created the concept of cultural hegemony.
►
►
►
►
'Hegemony' in this case means the success of the
dominant classes in presenting their definition of reality,
their view of the world, in such a way that it is accepted by
other classes as 'common sense'. The general 'consensus'
is that it is the only sensible way of seeing the world.
Alternate views are marginalized
Hegemony is maintained by force and cultural dominance.
No one dominant group – shifting alliances
The Other
►
►
►
►
Concept of the "Other" in Literature
The concept of the ‘Other’ in literature can is considered to
be an individual who is perceived by a group as not
belonging; as they have been culturally constructed as
being fundamentally different in some way (Southwest
Educational Development Laboratory 1999).
The other is seen as an inferior being.
For an example, it may be someone who is of a different
race, gender, culture, religion, social class, sexual
orientation or nationality.
Gaze
► One
thing post-colonial critics look at is how
the gaze of the other and interpretations of
self affect who people are and how they
react to each other. This can create a chain
reaction: we react to our perception of how
others perceive and react to us, regardless
of whether our perceptions are accurate.
► How does gaze affect characters’ behavior
in Chapter VII?
Ideology
►
The entirety or the system of ideas of the ruling class
would be the Ideology of a given society. The function
of ideology would be the continual reproduction of the
means of production and thereby to ensure the continuous
dominance of the ruling class. (Marx and Engels).
►
Ruling classes enforce their ideologies through force and
cultural production in order to maintain and justify power.
Ideology
►
Ideology achieves this by distorting reality.
While in fact the split in ruling and subservient
social classes is artificial (i.e. man made) and
serves the needs of the economic system, the
ideas of ideology makes it appear natural. It
makes the subordinate classes accept a state of
alienation against they would otherwise revolt.
This state of alienation has also been referred to
as "false consciousness".
Interpellation
► Interpellation
►
Interpellation, a term coined by French Marxist philosopher Louis
Althousser, describes the process by which ideology addresses the
individual. To illustrate how interpellation functions in the context of
ideology Althousser used the example of the policeman who shouts
"Hey, you there!" At least one individual will turn around (most likely
the right one) to "answer" that call. At this moment, when one realizes
that the call is for oneself, one becomes a subject relative to the
ideology of law and crime. According to Althusser, this is the way in
which ideology generally functions. We are all always caught up in the
process in which we voluntarily acknowledge the validity or relevance
of the dominant ideology in which we live for ourselves and thus
subject ourselves to it. The example of the policeman furthermore
suggests that we really have not a choice in this matter. Were we to
ignore the call, we would sooner or later be forced to adhere to it.