Postcolonial Theory: Contextual Practice Politics

Author: [British] Gilbert
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-07-01
Features: Recently, there has been much debate surrounding the status and value of postcolonial cultural analysis models. Postcolonial theory has been challenged in several aspects: in its interdisciplinary capabilities, its usual positioning in political contexts, and its inherent power dynamics toward other types of postcolonial analysis, many of which emerged earlier than postcolonial theory itself. The ensuing debates are often so heated and even personalized that the very issues being debated become blurred. In this work, which can be said to be the most comprehensive and lucid overview of this field to date, Bart Moore-Gilbert systematically explores the objections raised against postcolonial theory, revealing the singularity and exaggeration in the perspectives of both sides of the debate. He provides an exhaustive account of the conventional approaches in Western traditions to studying culture and colonial relationships historically, followed by an inquiry into the emergence of alternative forms of postcolonial analysis on these issues. He also introduces with great care the complex and often bewildering works of the three main figures of postcolonial theory (Gayatri Spivak, Edward Said, and Homi K. Bhabha), considering the criticisms they have faced. Finally, he considers the direction in which postcolonial analysis may be related to various histories of oppression, examining how such a hybrid theory can coexist with the political issues of unity and alliance in the ongoing struggles for cultural decolonization.