Postcolonial Identity Research Articles

Palestine, Postcolonialism and Pessoptimism

This essay traces the belated entrance of ‘Palestine’ into the field of postcolonial studies. It explores the various ways in which the object of Palestine has challenged and complicated many of the premises and presumptions of the discipline, principally in the way it troubles the once frequently embraced idea that the State of Israel is itself the consequence of anticolonial struggle. Rather than affirming the reverse scenario for Palestine, Moore-Gilbert suggests an exploration of its literary culture points to an aesthetic in common with Israel. Thus, rather than championing the ‘two-state solution’ and the cause of self-determination that has been so prominent in some branches of postcolonial studies, this essay suggestively follows the logic of the work of Edward Said, among others, in arguing that Palestinian literature offers us a glimpse of one, binational, state. In so doing it argues that coming to terms with Palestine is critical for the future of postcolonial studies, while reaffirming ‘culture’ as a crucial site for understanding postcolonial politics and identity.

Postcolonial Memory and Masculinity in Algeria

This essay analyses Muriel (1963), the third feature-length film from Alain Resnais, which attempts to make sense of a fragmented past and present that have been torn apart by international wars and domestic conflicts. The film highlights the multitude of silences and amnesias surrounding the French–Algerian War and its remembrances (or lack thereof) as the nation struggled to come to terms with colonial guilt. After mapping out the ways in which representations of destruction and rebuilding around both the French–Algerian War and the Second World War inform Muriel, the essay goes on to examine how form and content subtly reveal memory and masculinity as being tied up in this postwar, postcolonial identity crisis, exemplified by the visual absence of Muriel, an Algerian woman who was tortured and killed by a French Army unit during the war. Although the torture scene is not represented visually, its haunting presence exemplifies how the Algerian female body functioned as a screen onto which French men could project their anxieties around colonial power and masculinity. While the visual absence of torture and the title character is a glaring omission, it is one that could be also interpreted as obliquely addressing issues at the heart of the Franco-Algerian conflict, including censorship, torture and war crimes.

The paradox of exclusion and multiculturalism in postcolonial identity

ABSTRACTThis article analyzes the discriminatory representation of ethnic minorities in Hong Kong advertisements through a semiotic analysis of a TV commercial for an insurance company. The ridiculing of a foreign domestic helper through a colorist representation is inscribed in an ethnographic inquiry that explores how the representation of the foreign “other” in terms of dark skin color serves to project a common conceptualization of Hongkongers’ own identity. The discussion explores the paradoxical understanding of Hong Kong as a multicultural and global city, in contrast with the apparently homogenous Chinese mainland, while excluding from the concept of “multiculturalism,” non-Chinese ethnicities through discrimination based on skin color. Thus, the role the TV commercial plays is to shape and reinforce this paradox, perpetuating the idea of the Hong Kong identity as Chinese, but multicultural at the same time.

Russia’s Postcolonial Identity: A Subaltern Empire in a Eurocentric World by Viacheslav Morozov

Reviewed by: Russia’s Postcolonial Identity: A Subaltern Empire in a Eurocentric World by Viacheslav Morozov Vsevolod Samokhvalov (bio) Viacheslav Morozov, Russia’s Postcolonial Identity: A Subaltern Empire in a Eurocentric World (Houndmills and New York: Pal-grave Macmillan, 2015). 209 pp. Bibliography. Index. ISBN: 978-1-137-40929-4. Research on Russian foreign policy has until recently been dominated by conventional descriptive studies based on politicized and moralizing either pro-Russian or anti-Russian narratives. Some constructivist researchers have tried to produce more reflective studies grounded in modern theories of international relations. Much has been written about Russia’s uneasy relations with Europe both in Russia and the West. However, there has been a noticeable lack of intellectual effort to apply postcolonial analysis to this problem. The book by Viacheslav Morozov is an interesting attempt to bridge international relations with postcolonial theory in Russian studies. Chapter 1 of the book makes a case for the application of postcolonial theory to gain a deeper understanding of the tensions and contradictions of Russia’s international standing. Specifically, it advances the thesis of Russia as a “subaltern empire.”1 The concept of subaltern is borrowed from postcolonial theory and refers, according to Morozov, to an oppressed nation deprived of subjectivity and ability to articulate its own narrative. By combining the two concepts, “subaltern” and “empire,” the book argues that the country is simultaneously part of both the global imperial core and the Western periphery. This mixed experience has resulted in a unique state of Russian identity, which Morozov defines as “hybrid subjectivity,” another term borrowed from postcolonial studies. Hybrid subjectivity, according to Morozov’s interpretation of postcolonial studies, is a situation when the colonized subject is able to mimic the discourse of the colonizer, thus subverting it and making colonial domination a profoundly ambiguous phenomenon. To illustrate this condition, Morozov uses the example of the group of Hindus, who study the Gospel but refuse to accept that it was introduced to them by Europeans. Similarly to Indians, who accept the universality of Christian values, but refuse to acknowledge their origin in the European culture, Russia, [End Page 463] even when it opposes the West, nevertheless frames its own demands in the “Western” language (Pp. 23–24). Drawing on this frame of analysis, the chapter concludes that the added value of the postcolonial perspective is its ability to explain uneasiness in Russian–European relations and to demonstrate that the only subject on the horizon of Russian politics is the West itself (Pp. 6, 157–164). Chapter 2 of the book provides a critical overview of several strands of the reflectivist international relations literature (postcolonial, constructivist, and critical revisions of the English school). In particular, the book argues that a variety of constructivist scholars, especially those who explicitly pursue the task of theorizing Russian schools of international relations, eventually end up analyzing their own identity rather than the ontology, epistemology, and methodology of the field. Furthermore, the book argues that even though separate constructivist studies identified similar patterns of the discursive landscape in Russia, China, Iran, and Japan, most of them still pursue a case-focused approach, which does not allow generalizations about the nature of identity, discourse, and othering mechanisms. Postcolonial theory, according to Morozov, allows a comparative perspective and can account for this pattern (P. 44). Another limitation of the constructivist school, namely, its in-ability to take into account material factors, is addressed in chapter 3. In describing Russia’s economic dependency on the West, Morozov combines approaches by Alexander Etkind, Boris Kagarlitsky, and Vsevolod Sergeev. He concludes that external economic rationale (demand for fur, hemp flax, timber, grain, and currently gas imported by Russia to Europe) reveal the interrupted pattern of the country’s uneven and combined development as a semiperiphery of the capitalist core over the past several centuries (P. 89). The persistence of this extractive economy model leads to identification between the security apparatus and the state per se. The preponderance of a centralized and militarized state with its grip over the economy, as well as the persistence of resource-oriented economic development has constituted the two main distinctive features of Russia up to today (P. 94). The...

Handbook of Postcolonial Archaeology eds. by Jane Lydon and Uzma Z. Rizvi, and: Decolonizing Indigenous Histories: Exploring Prehistoric/Colonial Transitions in Archaeology eds. by Maxine Oland, Siobhan M. Hart, and Liam Frink

Reviewed by: Handbook of Postcolonial Archaeology eds. by Jane Lydon and Uzma Z. Rizvi, and: Decolonizing Indigenous Histories: Exploring Prehistoric/Colonial Transitions in Archaeology eds. by Maxine Oland, Siobhan M. Hart, and Liam Frink Margaret M. Bruchac PhD (bio) Handbook of Postcolonial Archaeology. Jane Lydon and Uzma Z. Rizvi , eds. Walnut Creek, CA: Left Coast Press, 2010. 503 pp. Decolonizing Indigenous Histories: Exploring Prehistoric/Colonial Transitions in Archaeology. Maxine Oland, Siobhan M. Hart, and Liam Frink , eds. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 2012. 300 pp. During the emergence of archaeology as a scientific discipline, research on Indigenous peoples and sites typically followed a colonial model focused on discovery and recovery. Sites, artifacts, and human remains were located, removed, contextualized, and displayed by explorers and outsiders; these processes often took place without the participation or consent of traditional leaders and knowledge-bearers from the population under study. These archaeological excavations enabled colonial states and scientific authorities to dominate and appropriate the intellectual and cultural property of colonial subjects. Practitioners of scientific colonialism routinely marginalized Indigenous perspectives and distorted representations of ancestral peoples, objects, and territories. They also introduced temporal, social, and typological divisions between present and past, and between theoretically "primitive" and "civilized," "historic" and "prehistoric" eras. Postcolonial approaches to archaeology, as theory and practice, constitute more than just forms of resistance to earlier colonial models of archaeology. Postcolonial methods are, ideally, investigative, restorative, and collaborative. Practitioners examine the impacts of colonial processes, while soliciting data and insights that can expand our understanding of the archaeological record. Proponents of decolonization also seek to [End Page 184] restore local and Indigenous perspectives and to shift the social relations around archaeology by increasing engagement with contemporary descendant communities. Two new publications examine both the history of colonial archaeologies and trends in postcolonial archaeologies; each is likely to prove influential in shaping the future of collaborative archaeologies. Handbook of Postcolonial Archaeology: Reframing Colonialism Jane Lydon and Uzma Z. Rizvi, editors of the Handbook of Postcolonial Archaeology, offer a collection of narratives that recount place-specific histories of colonizing archaeologies and decolonizing projects. This volume is organized into five parts, framed by introductions and commentaries. Themes are critiques of colonialism; archaeological narratives of colonialism; issues of restitution, repatriation, and ethics; postcolonial identities; and strategies for implementing postcolonialism. Forty-five contributors from six continents represent various scientific, Indigenous, and ethnic perspectives. Each author examines colonial power relations, articulates attempts to decolonize, and proposes future projects, while weaving together regionally specific negotiations of power, identity, and history. The authors seek to disentangle archaeological theory, practice, and ethics from the limitations of colonialist thought and to recover more culturally accurate representations of local Indigenous peoples and ethnic histories. Part I, "The Archaeological Critique of Colonization: Global Trajectories," is particularly valuable for its thoughtful discussions of the histories of archaeological practice in the Middle East, Near East, South Asia, and East Asia. Alfredo Gonzalez-Ruibal (chapter 2) examines Western searches for the origins of classical civilizations in the Middle East, linking this work to the invention of the "primitive," the consolidation of nation-state identities, and the persistence of Western intellectual dominance (45). Benjamin W. Porter (chapter 3) critiques archaeological (re) constructions of history in Palestine and Israel that bolster national narratives to legitimate contemporary social injustices. Identifying the term "Near East" as a "discursive myth," he suggests recovering local Indigenous terms (e.g., the Arabic mashriq) that are more historically grounded (52). Museological models are examined in the chapter by Sonya Atalay (chapter 4). She uses Anishinabe petroglyphs and prophecy representing [End Page 185] spiral reckonings of time to acknowledge colonial ruptures while also laying foundations for postcolonial futures. Dilip K. Chakrabarti (chapter 5) argues that in South Asia, archaeologists marginalized India's Indigenous history by focusing on successive migrations rather than local communities. He also complains of the continuing intellectual marginalization of Third World scholars by First World scientists. Koji Mizoguchi (chapter 6) describes trends in East Asia (e.g., antiquarianism, Marxism, and myths of imperial genealogy) that reshaped identities and inspired new national traditions (83), and Hyung Il Pai (chapter 7) discusses how Japan mapped and manipulated Korea's ancient remains (koseki), relics (ibutsu), and...

Writing History Against the Grain: Counter-memory as a site of Reconstructing Postcolonial Identity in Michelle Cliff's No elephone to Heaven

The Marginal seek to resist the omission and distortions of official histories by returning to the lost voices and forgotten experiences. Official histories are produced by the dominant who produce knowledge and practice with respect to a shared past in order to marginalize other groups. Thus official histories create and maintain the unity of the dominant ideology by imposing an interpretation of the past, and silencing and excluding alternative interpretation of the same historical experiences. In this sense, the act of memory introduces a counter-perspective that resists and disputes the dominant ideology. Therefore, recovery of the past is an essential element in constructing as well as representing collective and individual identities. In No Telephone to Heaven (1987), Michelle Cliff attempts to establish a counter-hegemonic account of the Jamaican history through remembering the lost history of oppressed black people. By introducing a counter-perspective to the Jamaican history, Cliff attempts to reconstruct a consciousness and rebuild a shattered identity of her protagonist. Thus, in No Telephone to Heaven, Cliff is concerned with the recovery of lost histories as well as the rehabilitation of resistance to slavery and racism in Jamaica and the United States.

MEMORY IN THE WORK OF CARYL PHILLIPS: SANCTUARY AND/OR PRISON?

Memory and rememoration were crucial for the (re)construction of postcolonial identities in the heyday of historical and cultural retrieval in earlier postcolonial literature. With the gradual change of focus towards considerations of identity construction in neocolonial societies, the importance of rememoration faded while memory continues to haunt characters in contemporary postcolonial fiction, as Caryl Phillips’s writing illustrates. His protagonists retrace memories of past lives, seeking refuge from loss, exile and marginalization, risking permanent entrapment in the labyrinths of past traumas. Although withdrawal into memory prevents some of them from adapting to their surroundings, memory in Phillips’s work as a whole serves as a meeting point for pogrom survivors. It is a polyphonic, heterotopian, heterogeneous imaginary community to which the uprooted figures of his novels belong. The aim of this article is to examine the function of memory in Phillips’s vision, arguing that the established space of memory is designed to mend the rift between value-infested polarities.

Communal Identities in Rohinton Mistry's Bombay Novel

The article examines Rohinton Mistry's Such a Long Journey as a defining example of the Bombay novel. This genre of literature, I argue, depicts Bombay as a powerful force that defines individual residents just as much as it is defined by them. The genre demands a reading strategy that highlights the artifice and agency necessary to create the composites of personal and public (i.e., historical and political) narratives that comprise the city's postcolonial identities. Mistry, like many Bombay novelists, presents the city as a nuanced site produced through the interactions between memory, personal and public histories, and power relationships. His use of literary realism emphasizes the limitations of individual agency and presents Bombay as a decaying, unwelcoming place defined by pessimistic nostalgia. Thus, Mistry's depiction of Bombay exemplifies the tenuous nature of individual narrative agency over personal and urban identity as well as both the alienating and the restorative consequences of communal politics.

Authenticating Performances

Adherents of performance theory emphasise the constitutive and transformative potentia of rituals with respect to patterns of social organization and authority. For them, rituals “not only mean something, but also do something, particularly the way they construct and inscribe power relationships” (Bell 1997). This contribution focuses on the role of ritual in postcolonial identity constitution and the performative authentication of political power and social authority in Taiwan. Since the middle of the 1990s, traditionalist performances have been on the rise on the island. Generously subsidised by government bodies which have sought to demonstrate their nativist or multiculturalist orientations, aboriginal elites not only publicly worshipped ancestor gods and enacted animal sacrifices in so called “revitalised” public rituals, but also used these occasions to point to the primordial power of aborigines vis-à-vis their former colonisers, the Han Chinese. In many cases, however, the “revitalised” rituals described here conflicted with the interests of common people in aboriginal society, who wished public ritual to be compatible with their newly adopted Christian traditions. Taking a closer look at the contemporary rituals of the Taroko and Ami, which are characterised by the above mentioned dynamics, I argue that rituals publicly performed by aborigines today amalgamate different levels of meaning. While they articulate and negotiate the identity needs and social exigency of the respective social group or society (Turner 1969), they simultaneously carry those often elite-dominated mechanisms that are described by Hobsbawm and Ranger (1983) in their examinations of the processes of cultural invention for the needs of political and cultural entities, as well as by Paul Brass (1991) in his analyses of elite competition. In other words, while these rituals may in many cases have efficacy with regard to the constitution of society and identity, the traditionalist rituals in particular frequently serve the authentication exigencies of various elites. Finally, I suggest that if one wants to provide the culture of common people with greater opportunities for representation, one should not focus too much on the display of “authentic” old traditions in order to highlight Taiwanese subjectivity, but should also acknowledge those hybridised new traditions which aboriginal society has generated over the course of Taiwan’s more recent history and which may also contain new religious elements.

Border Poetics: Becoming Cypriot in the Dead Zone

The purpose of this article is twofold: firstly, an autoethnographic account of Cypriot poetics considers the extent to which language, literature and translation have played a crucial, often destructive and sometimes transformative part in the formation of post-colonial Cypriot identities and poetics; secondly, the article examines how contemporary Anglophone writers in/of Cyprus redefine Cypriot literary canons, languages and territories. This redefinition enables a new transformative poetics to occur, or, as Deleuze and Guattari would have it, a process of ‘becoming-minor’ as an act of radical deterritorialisation can be initiated. To speak of politics and poetry at the border between the Republic of Cyprus and the unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is to write from the border between languages, between myth and memory, as well as between politically defined territories; moving through rather than only thinking about the politics of poetics. If Cypriotness is to travel beyond a memory or fantasy of Cyprus before its division, the first step is to refuse to accept the authority of chronological and hierarchical national narratives of official canons in favour of the diverse deterritorialised compendium as an anti-canon. This means making an attempt to disrupt oppressive dominant narratives, not by replacing or erasing them (the repressed returns), but by weaving new routes through the old ruins and living in the spaces between these routes.

Imperial remains: Post-colonialism in Portuguese literature and cinema

Abstract Post-1974 literature and cinema have contributed to a reflection about the Colonial War and, more broadly, about Portuguese colonialism. Novels like António Lobo Antunes’s South of Nowhere, Lídia Jorge’s The Murmuring Coast, Isabela Figueiredo’s Notebook of Colonial Memories, and Dulce Maria Cardoso’s The Return, as well as films such as João Botelho’s A Portuguese Goodbye, Teresa Villaverde’s Coming of Age, António Pedro Vasconcelos’s The Imortals, and Manoel de Oliveira’s, Non, or the Vain Glory of Command, to name but a few, deal with the country’s long colonial past, try to come to terms with the heritage of colonial violence and reflect upon Portugal’s postcolonial identity. In this paper, I argue that this literary and cinematic production mirrors what I have identified as the four modes of being post-colonial in contemporary Portuguese culture: (1) Nostalgia with bad conscience; (2) Trauma; (3) Melancholia; (4) Trace.

Proclaiming Independence: Language and National Identity in Sékou Touré’s Guinea

Language is both a means of constructing collective identity and an expression of collective identity in itself. The implications for postcolonial societies are considerable: as long as a colonial language is privileged over its indigenous counterparts in the public sphere, a country remains under the de facto control of the former coloniser. This article engages with the struggle to decolonise language in postcolonial Guinea under Sékou Touré, from 1958 to 1984. Guinea is a particularly attractive case study for several reasons: first, language was central to the nascent national culture; thus, engagement with the question of language played out consciously and publicly. Second, both the Touré government and grassroots movements were actively involved in this process, often with conflicting goals and mechanisms. Third, national language policy confronted a popular, indigenous, and truly postcolonial alternative in the form of N'ko. Finally, Guinea's struggle yielded mixed results, many of which can be traced to particular policies. Using Touré's Guinea as a cautionary tale, this article considers: What is the role of language in the development of postcolonial identity? Can either a colonial or indigenous language effectively give voice to a nation's experience of reality, or do the peculiarities of a postcolonial society necessitate the creation of something new? Ultimately, overcoming the imperialism of language requires a radically egalitarian and multilingual approach, in which language is understood to reflect the discursive experience of postcolonial reality.

Not Quite Free? Irish Postcoloniality and the Career of Pat O'Callaghan

This paper explores the career of the Irish Olympian Pat O'Callaghan. He won successive hammer-throwing titles in the 1924 and 1928 Olympics as a representative of the independent Irish state. The paper argues that in these Olympics, O'Callaghan can be considered as representing a postcolonial state, in line with much scholarship on other aspects of Irish culture. However, the Irish later fell into a dispute with the International Amateur Athletics Federation and the International Olympic Committee, which were largely steered by the British in dealing with contentious issues over the Irish border, and the Irish were thus effectively banned from the 1936 games. The paper concludes with a discussion over the nature of postcolonial identities in sport, and the complexities around the issue in relation to the constant mediation over what national identities mean within the context of rule-making by international sporting bodies.

Global health diplomacy, national integration, and regional development through the monitoring and evaluation of HIV/AIDS programs in Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, and Samoa.

The South Pacific countries of Vanuatu, Samoa, and Papua New Guinea have ascended rapidly up the development spectrum in recent years, refining an independent and post-colonial economic and political identity that enhances their recognition on the world stage. All three countries have overcome economic, political and public health challenges in order to stake their claim to sovereignty. In this regard, the contributions of national and international programs for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS, with specific reference to their monitoring and evaluation (M&E) aspects, have contributed not just to public health, but also to broader political and diplomatic goals such as 'nation-building'. This perspective describes the specific contributions of global health programs to the pursuit of national integration, development, and regional international relations, in Vanuatu, Samoa and Papua New Guinea, respectively, based on in-country M&E activities on behalf of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) during 2014 and 2015. Key findings include: (1) that global health programs contribute to non-health goals; (2) that HIV/AIDS programs promote international relations, decentralized development, and internal unity; (3) that arguments in favour of the maintenance and augmentation of global health funding may be enhanced on this basis; and (4) that "smart" global health approaches have been successful in South Pacific countries.

Putting the “Studies” in French Studies: Historians and social scientists in departments of French

AbstractThe eight authors of this article, all historians or social scientists teaching in departments of French at American universities, assess the multidisciplinary field of “French Studies” today. The article elaborates on our experiences teaching and researching French and francophone history, society, politics, and culture. In particular, it addresses pedagogical challenges, study abroad, interdepartmental collaboration, institutional pressures, the impact of globalization, and graduate training. French departments can develop their role by promoting multidisciplinary dialogues about a French and francophone world whose literature, history, and social arrangements remain questions of wide import. These questions include postcolonial identities, territory and identification, multiculturalism and assimilation, the fate of the welfare state, and the future of a rich, idiosyncratic cultural and political tradition in a globalizing world.RésuméLes huit auteurs de cet article, tous historiens ou spécialistes des sciences sociales enseignant dans les départements de français d’universités américaines, font le point sur la situation actuelle du domaine pluridisciplinaire des “études françaises”. L’article est fondé sur leur expérience d’enseignantschercheurs en histoire, sciences sociales, politique, et culture. On y aborde en particulier les questions touchant aux défis pédagogiques, aux séjours à l’étranger, à la collaboration entre les départements, aux diverses pressions provenant des institutions universitaires, à l’impact de la mondialisation, et à la préparation des étudiants avancés. Les départements de français peuvent assumer leur rôle en promouvant un dialogue pluridisciplinaire portant sur les mondes français et francophone dont la littérature, l’histoire, et les réalités sociales restent des sujets de grande importance. Les questions en débat comprennent les identités post-coloniales, les rapports entre territoire et identité ainsi qu’entre multiculturalisme et assimilation, le sort de l’Etat-providence, et l’avenir d’une tradition culturelle et politique riche et idiosyncratique dans un univers mondialisé.

Contesting public discourses on sexuality in Kenya: A reading of Kevin Mwachiro's Invisible

abstractThe debate on homosexuality has recently gained heightened public interest in Kenya and her neighbour Uganda. This debate tends to depict non-heterosexual people as sick people who need medical care or cultural reorientation. Consequently, stories of the lives of gay persons are difficult to come by in these countries. This briefing is a critical reading of Kevin Mwachiro's Invisible: Stories from Kenya's Queer Community. I look at the narratives of public coming out in the Kenyan gay community in this anthology in the context of the current public debate on sexuality. The narratives in Mwachiro's book cut across gender, age, tribe, religion, educational background and social economic classes. My argument is that the very existence of a book that documents stories of gays in Kenya demonstrates that despite the hypocrisy and vitriol with which the subject is discussed, the gay community has always been and is a part of Kenyan society. I analyse the narratives in Invisible with the intention to demonstrate that the subject of sexuality can no longer simply be relegated to the periphery of national discourses. This short briefing argues that the stories of the Kenyan non-heteronormative should be heard alongside those of everyone else; that an understanding of Kenyan postcolonial culture and identity would not be complete until the voices of all sections of this society have been heard.

After the Exodus: Catholics and the Formation of Postcolonial Identity in Algeria

After the Exodus: Catholics and the Formation of Postcolonial Identity in Algeria

From Post-Colonialism to Cosmopolitan Nation-Building? British and French Imperial Heroes in Twenty-First-Century Africa

The independence of African colonies generally turned imperial heroes into unwanted memories of a bygone age. However, half a century later, the pantheon of European heroes of the colonial era seems to be enjoying a new lease of life in sub-Saharan Africa under the impulse of a variety of factors linked to local religious beliefs, global tourism or new approaches in the construction of post-colonial national identities. This article argues that the rebirth of imperial heroes in Africa reveals a deep process of renegotiation of nation-building narratives, moving away from post-colonialism and towards a post-racial form of cosmopolitanism.

How Postcolonial Translation Theory Transforms Francophone African Studies

metaphor of as a carrying across of meaning between texts and cultures has often been used to explore ways in which West's others present to a dominant Western, receiving, target culture through hegemonic languages of empire, ostensibly for hegemonic Western audiences. This of course pattern described by philosophy of translatio studii et imperii, putative geographic movement westward of both learning and empire. Likewise, in discussing work of francophone writers, critics have often assumed a similar translational model of writing that uni-directional, a carrying-across that moves only from (post)colony to West, from South to North. As Anuradha Dingwaney puts it, translation ... vehicle though which 'Third World' cultures (are made to) travel--transported or 'borne across' to and recuperated by audiences in West (4). In its inattention to reciprocal cultural exchange, however, this model effectively forecloses on role of writer as literary and cultural agent because it relies on notion of as an ancillary activity where writer-as (derivative)-translator works in service of one or another cultural master. Moradewum Adejunmobi asserts that this type of thinking even shared by some writers who may continue to present their European-language texts as derivative ... because a widespread conception prevails among writers and critics of according to which only versions in indigenous languages can be truly African (168). Indeed, Adejunmobi's essay, and Postcolonial Identity: Writing and European Languages perspicaciously explores persistent nostalgia for 'origins,' 'original languages,' and ... 'original identities' in issues surrounding and contemporary literature (163). It this type of originary thinking that often leads (Western) readers of francophone to assume that because work was written in French, audience therefore located in metropole and beyond, to exclusion of local readers. For example, in his introduction to Sartre's What Literature and Other Essays, Steven Ungar claims that Sartre's Orphee noir, preface to L.S. Senghor's Anthologie de la poesie negre et malgache, allows Sartre to mediate on behalf of Senghor and poets in order to address white European readers for whom anthology intended (12, emphasis added). Similarly, Madeleine Borgomano assumes that, because francophone women write in French, their texts are addressed to l'autre, l'homme blanc, l'etranger the other, White man, foreigner (Voix 32). This type of thinking about francophone as a which unidirectional tends to deny of translational exchange. It reminiscent of what Talal Asad first identified as violence of ethnographic authority in cultural and determination of cultural meaning in a Western context. In his seminal 1986 essay, The Concept of Cultural Translation in British Social Anthropology, Asad shows that authority of ethnographer is inscribed in institutionalized forces of industrial capitalist society ... which are constantly tending to push meanings of various Third World societies in a single direction (163). However, as Douglas Robinson observes, while translatio in constant geographical drift, its movement not necessarily westward: translation itself must repeatedly be retranslated ..., which has effect of grounding it not in stability but in flux (55). Just as field of Translation Studies has moved beyond examining the translations themselves (although this certainly continues to be an essential component of Translation Studies) toward a turn that emphasizes centrality of in cultural history, so turn in Translation Studies has turned toward an examination of many facets of linguistic and cultural in colonial and postcolonial contexts. …

Temporal Spaces in García Márquez's, Salih's, and Rushdie's Novels

In her article "Temporal Spaces in García Márquez's, Salih's, and Rushdie's Novels" Adrienne D. Vivian discusses the significance of time in Gabriel García Márquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude, Tayeb Salih's Season of Migration to the North, and Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children. While culturally distinct to one another, in each novel temporal space is narrated as a means to express and explore postcolonial identity. Vivian examines the connections between time and memory, history, and nation in each of the novels and the ways postcolonial authors use time as a device to mark the crossroads of precolonial past and colonization. The three novelists' treatments of temporal spaces resist Western culture while they reveal disruption and fragmentation.