Postcolonial Perspective Research Articles

A Postcolonial Review on Jamaica Kincaid's Novella Lucy

This paper examines Jamaica Kincaid’s novel Lucy within the context of postcolonial literature, exploring the profound impact of colonial legacies on the main character, Lucy, and her experiences in a postcolonial world. Written by Jamaica Kincaid, a native of Antigua, the novel delves into the complexities of postcolonial identity, juxtaposing the concepts of independence and freedom. Antigua, as one of the last countries to gain independence in 1981, serves as a backdrop, illustrating the stark contrast between the author's newly adopted home in the United States and her memories of Antigua, marked by a history of suppression and oppression. Lucy, the novel's central character, carries the weight of her colonial past, a burden manifested through her constant reflection on her homeland. As a character who has never resided in a white-dominated society, she grapples with navigating a world replete with stereotypes about individuals of black and brown ethnicity. This essay aims to critically analyse Lucy from a postcolonial perspective, providing specific examples from the novel to illuminate the enduring impact of colonialism on the protagonist's identity and her journey towards self-discovery in a complex postcolonial landscape.

Cultural Assimilation: A Post Colonial Perspective in Kim

Rudyard Kipling’s Kim is mostly considered as a novel of advocacy for making colonizers stronger to rule the natives. It deals the native with a stereotypical perception of the oriental, particularly, of Indian people. This paper has used Edward Said’s postcolonial perspective of orientalism to analyze Kim. Emphasis is given on identifying the situations and expressions that are directed to cultural assimilation, trying to indicate that Kipling advocates for the English cultural supremacy and colonial significance in Indian territory. This research is based on primary as well as secondary data analysis with qualitative research approach. Finding shows that Kipling, with a pretext of standing in- between the East and the West, visualizes varying ranges of stereotype of India and its peoples. Even if cultural assimilation seems to be liberally responded at different occasions this study tells that English community is in understanding and application of cultural supremacy as a determinate factor to establish their rule upon the native and inspire the latter to assimilate to former’s culture. Detailed analysis of assimilation through post-colonial cultural hegemony perceptive would be further relevant study on this novel.

African women’s trajectories and the Casa dos Estudantes do Império

ABSTRACT This article compares the trajectories of different women who crossed the Casa dos Estudantes do Império (CEI), a formal institution created in Lisbon by students from the colonies with the support of the Portuguese dictatorial regime in 1944, that became a platform for anti–colonialism. Due to the role played by the CEI in the political and social paths of the leaders of African national liberation movements, historiography has privileged masculine accounts. In contrast, the roles and lives of women linked to the CEI remain unexplored or approached from a vision of “methodological nationalism”, with few exceptions. Addressing these trajectories from a transnational and “Afro–Iberian” lens and through the scrutiny of several sources allows us to reflect on a diversity of gender, race, class, and political ideology. The final aim is to illuminate some aspects of the Afro–Iberian mosaic from a gendered and postcolonial perspective.

Representation of the Moroccan Ruler, Tribe and Resistance in Travel Writing: A Postcolonial Study of Morocco That Was and In Morocco

Colonial travel writing performed ideological functions in North Africa during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The images, stories, and narratives composing its representation- created a distorted reality of the colonized lands to normalize and legitimize colonialism. This study contributes to offering a more literary account of how colonial writings about Morocco targeted social and political institutions or organizations as part of its imperial project in the region. To this end, this study examines two travel accounts (Morocco That Was and In Morocco) to identify how they represent the Moroccan ruler, tribe, and resistance during the colonial period. Based on postcolonial and critical discourse analysis perspectives, the findings of this research showed that representation of these aspects of Moroccan life during that period endorsed the colonial and imperial project in Morocco. In the meantime, the study recommended the integration of this colonial discourse earlier in Moroccan textbooks.

Dekolonialność a nuklearne dziedzictwo Czarnobyla

DECOLONIALITY AND THE NUCLEAR HERITAGE OF CHORNOBYL In the early spring of 2022, images from the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone circulated around the world, awakening a dormant fear of the nuclear threat in Western societies. The reality of the unpredictability of the consequences of military action in the Zone unveiled new perspectives for interpreting the Chornobyl legacy in the context of causality – from the strategies of physical protection to deconstruction of existing narrations. The article aims to conceptualise the dissonances of the Chornobyl nuclear heritage in the optics of the postcolonial perspective. The discussion begins with a presentation of the main assumptions of critical heritage studies as a framework for a presentation of Chornobyl as a cultural nuclear heritage. The analysis of a case study offers an insight into the process of revisiting heritage in relation to changing socio-political conditions. It also contributes to the wider discussion on decoloniality of the post-sovietworld.

Formation of Cultural Heritage Through the Interaction Between Chinese and Arab Cultures from a Post-colonial Perspective: Taking Ma Jian as an Example

Abstract Ma Jian brought a major transformation that had not been experienced in the early period of Chinese-Arab relations, which not only benefited from his study in Egypt, but also originated from the wave of cultural revival in Egypt and other Arab countries in the “post-colonialism” era. Ma Jian was fruitful in his life. Two of his most prominent achievements are: first, he completed the translation of the Chinese version of the Koran. With traditional Chinese thoughts (Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism) as the root and classical Islamic thoughts as the guide, Ma Jian translated the Koran by integrating the identity characteristics of the Chinese nation with the spirit of Islam; second, he introduced Arabic into Chinese university education and compiled the first Arabic-Chinese dictionary. By establishing the Chinese-Arab cultural exchange base, Ma Jian effectively promoted the integration of the Chinese and Arab nations and multicultural exchanges and mutual learning and got rid of the “English hegemony”. At the same time, Ma Jian translated many ancient Chinese books into Arabic, which also laid the foundation for the establishment of “Sinology” in the Arab region.

Decolonizing Space and the Self A Postcolonial Reading of Activism on Statues

This article discusses recent activism on public statues from a post-colonial perspective. First, it outlines a post-colonial concern with the notion of subaltern space, focusing on the relation of space-making to subjectivation. Then, it analyses distinct theoretical insights coming from post-colonial literature that deal with the theme of political space and resistance, addressing in particular the thought of Mbembe, hooks, and Ahmed. Finally, it discusses activism over colonial statues in light of this theoretical approach, interpreting activism on statues as a decolonial intervention that directly addresses questions of representation and democracy.

The ‘De-legitimization of South Africa’

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, South Africa’s international standing has come under attack by Western-leaning forces whoadvocate that the country should forget its global South stance in favour of obeisance to the neoliberal world order. This can be seen in the almost 30-year-old narrative which questions who South Africa should be allied with. The purpose of this narrative, according to Professor Chris Landsberg, is to ‘de-legitimize’ the country’s international image. In this research, the author examines South African–Cuban relations from a realist and postcolonial perspective, arguing that South Africa’s rich history and foreign policy of non-alignment in fact give it a respected status in the community of international states—an idea which is never afforded to the country. Instead, the nuances of South African–Cuban relations, and in fact South Africa’s relationship with other states which are vocally‘anti-imperialist’, are often overlooked, distorted, and hidden from the public’s attention. This paper brings attention to this debate.

RECONSTRUCTING WOMEN IDENTITY IN CHINUA ACHEBE’S ANTHILLS OF THE SAVANNAH

African literature is the mirror of African community in which African social reality is depicted. Gender issue is one of the main themes that are a matter of interest to the majority of African authors. They portrayed woman character in patriarchal African society in which male hegemony is a stereotype. In this sense, Chinua Achebe as well as his fellows did not stray from the rule in their writings. In Things Fall Apart and Arrow of God, woman is considered as a second class citizen, and gender inequality is a predominant aspect. However, Achebe’s narratives shifted from covering and ignoring women rule to unveiling and reshaping their own identity in his Anthills of the Savannah. For that reason, the objective of the present paper is to determine how Achebe reconstructs women identity by focusing on the character of Beatrice, the female protagonist in his novel Anthills of the Savannah. By adopting post-colonial and feminist perspectives, the present research work attempts to clarify the recreation of new African women and their empowerment in the post-colonial Africa

Tirailleurs Sénégalais in Modern Hebrew Poetry: Nathan Alterman

This article expands on a poem written by one of the central figures in modern Hebrew literature, Nathan Alterman (1910–1970), entitled “About a Senegalese Soldier” (1945). Providing the first English translation of this poem and its first (academic) discussion in any language, the article analyzes the poem against contemporary geopolitical, historical, and literary backgrounds. The article’s transdisciplinary approach brings together imperial and colonial studies, African studies, and (Hebrew) literature studies. This unexpected combination adds originality to mainstream postcolonial perspectives through which the agency of the Senegalese riflemen [Tirailleurs sénégalais] has been often discussed in scholarly research. By using a rich variety of primary and secondary sources, the article also contributes to a more elaborated interpretation of Alterman’s poetry. This is achieved through embedding the poem on the tirailleur in a tripartite geopolitical context: local (British Mandate Palestine/Eretz-Israel), regional (the Middle East), and international (France-West Africa). The cultural histories and literary traditions in question are not normally cross-referenced in the relevant research literature and are less obvious to the anglophone reader.

Examination of three postcolonial African writers' perspectives on third world feminism

A variation of feminism known as postcolonial feminism emerged in opposition to feminism that exclusively addressed women's experiences in Western societies. In order to demonstrate how racism and the lasting political, economic, and cultural repercussions of colonialism affect non-white and non-Western women in the postcolonial globe, postcolonial feminism examines these issues. African feminism is a subset of feminism developed by African women that is focused on the issues and concerns of women in continental Africa (African women residing on the African continent). These feminism movements do not all represent the realities of African women because Africa is not a homogeneous continent. Some feminists are particularly focused on particular subgroups of African women, including movements with a national foundation, such as feminism in Sweden, feminism in India, feminism in Mexico, feminism in Japan, feminism in Germany, feminism in South Africa, etc. The concept of feminism for many African writers in the post-colonial era in the Third World has been the subject of widespread controversy, as it is seen as a feminist movement in line with and for African women in the diaspora instead of African women in the African continent. In this study, we present the perspectives of three African writers interested in the feminist movement about their vision of the concepts and role of the feminist movement in the post-colonial era in the Third World by shedding light on African feminist movements and the challenges they face. The study presents the vision of three African writers for the women's movement in the Third World in general and the African continent in particular in the post-colonial period through the emergence and development of the African feminist movement, and the three writers selected in this study are activists of the feminist movement inside Africa through their literary activity. Delusion: Molara Ogundipe-Leslie, Assia Djebar and Robert C.J.Young.

The Trouble with White Feminist Theologians? Decentring White Normativity in Feminist Theology

Feminist theology has provided a critical hermeneutical lens through which to interrogate hegemonic and hierarchical social and theological structures. Yet, can feminist theology itself be charged with the same paradigmatic problems it seeks to challenge? What exactly do we speak of when we speak of feminist theology? More importantly, who are we speaking of? Drawing from Kyla Schuller’s seminal volume, ‘The Trouble with White Women: A counter-history of feminism’, this article seeks to uncover the foundational connections between the historically ‘white feminism’ of Schuller’s counter-history and feminist theology, examining how, and indeed if, feminist theology contests or colludes with this problematic legacy. Considering post-colonial and intersectional feminist perspectives which trouble epistemological normativity, this article asks, is it possible to decentre, from the centre?

The Construction of Cultural Identity of the Minority : The Domestication and the Foreignization of Chinese Image in The Woman Warrior

Chinese Americans are a group which shows the feature of cultural hybridity, and The Woman Warrior describes the life experience of a Chinese girl in a foreign land and her imagination of her distant homeland. From the perspective of post-colonialism, cultural identity is gradually constructed and changed. The Woman Warrior translates some Chinese images into English shows the construction of cultural identity which is different from the mainstream culture. The translation strategies adopted by the novel can be divided into domesticating translation and foreignizing translation. The two translation methods have different characteristics and play different roles in the construction of cultural identity. This article adopts post-colonial theory, cultural identity theory and translation strategy theory to analyze the characteristics of domesticating translation and foreignizing translation in The Woman Warrior, and explores translation strategies that are more conducive to the construction of cultural identity through comparison. Finally, it is concluded that foreignizing translation is a more effective translation strategy under the premise of constructing cultural identity.

Language Expression Differences in Chinese and Western Media Reports from the Perspective of Post-Colonialism Cases Analysis of Beijing Winter Olympics

As the worlds largest winter sports event, the Winter Olympics has a growing global influence. At the same time, this event has also attracted widespread attention from all walks of life. News coverage has influenced peoples minds and ideologies to some extent. In particular, the differences between Chinese and Western cultures in the reporting language of the Beijing Winter Olympics have aroused widespread attention and research. Based on different cultures, this article uses postcolonial theory to explore the background and context of the language of the Winter Olympics coverage. From a postcolonial perspective, this article finds the language reported by the British media has obvious characteristics of discourse dominance and monopoly. In their reporting, a significant proportion of concepts with negative orientation are often used, reflecting their cultural superiority and legacy of colonial past. In contrast, Chinese reporting is more adept at using decorative language and emotional color, using rhetoric to highlight the meaning and emotional connotation of events. This reflects the importance that Chinese culture attaches to harmony, politeness and emotional expression, as well as the embodiment of identity Chinese reporting. This paper systematically analyzes the above language differences and puts forward relevant opinions or suggestions to promote cross-cultural communication and integration.

Navigating the twisted path of gaslighting: A manifestation of epistemic injustice for Palestinian women entrepreneurs

What exactly is gaslighting and how does it play out in the gendered context of women’s entrepreneurship? We contribute to Stern’s three-stage model of gaslighting by presenting a contextualised perspective through a ‘twisted path’ of gaslighting that maps out gaslighting interactions and consequences, reflecting how our findings coincide with, depart from and enrich this model; meanwhile identifying primary and subsequent (secondary and tertiary) gaslighting interactions. By examining gaslighting through the lens of epistemic injustice and testimonial injustice, we explain why some women entrepreneurs succumb to gaslighting, while others strategically employ testimonial smothering and infrapolitics as an empowered agential strategy rather than a disenfranchised consequence. Considering the lack of research on gaslighting in entrepreneurship, our geopolitical context emphasises the role of spatial position and identity within multiple systems of injustice, such as occupation and patriarchy, adding novel insights theorised and grounded in lived experiences. In doing so, we disrupt the influence of western feminism by embracing a postcolonial feminist perspective and promoting social justice through centring the voices of 40 internally displaced Palestinian women entrepreneurs. Policy implications underscore the need to raise awareness of gaslighting, facilitate its identification and promote preventive measures to hold gaslighters accountable.

Language as a source of otherness

Language is now firmly on the research agenda for international business and management. However, although attention is now being given to the effects of language on social interactions, rather than purely focusing on language as a matter of strategic priority, there is relatively little known about how language contributes to Othering processes in which employees experience marginalisation and exclusion as a result of evaluations of their linguistic competences. This conceptual paper highlights a number of ways in which linguistic evaluations drive such processes, and particularly draws on postcolonial perspectives in order to explore language as a tool of marginalisation and oppression. We demonstrate that language is closely tied to ideological constructions of the ideal worker, and highlight that English-language competence in particular, is often positioned as an essential skill for managerial roles, which can lead to exclusion of those who do not confirm to this expectation. Additionally, we draw on research which explores language as a key component of social identity, and thus an important factor in the construction of in-groups and out-groups within the workplace, in order to demonstrate not only the influence of context on the salience of language as a marker of identity, but also how language intersects with other identity characteristics in processes of exclusion. We conclude by demonstrating the possibilities to resist Othering in order to create more inclusive workplace environments.

Un/learning global governances: An introduction to the digital turn in China

Western research on Chinese technology often focuses on local nuances to provide recommendations for competitive advantages. Instead of exoticizing or employing a postcolonial perspective, our special issue 'The Digital Turn in China' aims to inspire further research on the transformative impact of the digital age in China and its pursuit of alternative globalization. It's divided into two sections. The first, 'Digital Governance, Development, and Emerging Ethics,' offers a panoramic view of China's role in the global economy and digital governance. The second, 'Chinese Platform Society: Case Studies,' delves into domains and communities in China significantly impacted by or emerging alongside digitalization.

A postcolonial autopsy on Javanese identity through Campursari lyrics

Campursari seems to reflect submissive identity, but in deconstructive perspective, the identity is chaotic space. By using postcolonial perspective, this research nails its analysis. The approach used in this research is library research with postcolonial approach. The data are the selected lyrics of Didi Kempot’s songs, they are Cidro, Tatu, Suket Teki, Pamer Bojo, and Sewu Kutho. The technique of data collection is documenting and the technique data analysis is interpretation. The result shows that Didi Kempot’s Campursari songs affirm the submissive way of loving. Cidro represents inferiority, Tatu represents surrender, Suket Teki represents inferiority, Pamer Bojo represents betrayal, and Sewu Kutho represents surrender. Those broken love defines Javanese identity which is seen submissive (dominated), but simultaneously, it also exposes a deconstructive point that loving is releasing, and releasing shows non-dominated side.

Orthodox Theology's Hide‐and‐Seek with Postcolonialism

AbstractAccording to the postcolonial approach, to understand today's world one must take into account modern colonialism (late 15th to mid‐20th centuries) as well as all other forms of colonialism. Orthodox theologians have only recently and on a small scale begun to use postcolonial analysis. However, Orthodox theology can contribute to the discussion and shed more light on both the historical experience and the future course of the debate. In particular, the postcolonial perspective can intersect with missionary praxis and missiology, as the Orthodox Church began to be seriously active in the missionary field (of sub‐Saharan Africa and the Far East) in the 1960s, that is, at the end of the classical colonial period. Its experience confirms that colonialism entails not only direct imposition on the colonized but also the colonized people's internalizing of the colonizers’ logic. The postcolonial approach thus invites self‐criticism. The obligation to be self‐critical is at the heart of the Orthodox tradition, despite the fact that it is often forgotten, resulting in nightmarish distortions and neo‐colonial attitudes. At the same time, the postcolonial perspective reinforces the liberating mission of the gospel and patristic theology in all human contexts. In this way, postcolonialism is called to come to a fruitful completion with anti‐colonialism and to contribute to the key demand of Orthodox ecclesiology, which is the formation of authentically local churches and not branches of other, national churches.

초국적 문화 시장 속 내셔널 시네마 재점검하기

The purpose of this paper is to problematize the critical and research landscape that anchor Edward Yang's films within the framework of national cinema, based on a post-colonial Marxist perspective. The success of the Taiwanese New Wave was influenced not only by the anti-colonial movement but also by marketing strategies within the postmodern art market. Furthermore, there was a process of responding to the new nation's desire for profit through the export of goods in the international market. Therefore, this paper aims to explore a new perspective in interpreting Edward Yang's films as national cinema, while also revealing aspects that have been concealed by the logic of criticism and the market surrounding his films. To achieve this, the paper focuses on new character types in his films since the 1990s, suggesting that his films may reproduce the culture of patriarchal bourgeois families. Thus, this paper aims to indicate that the concept of national cinema can solidify its privileged position within the nation and suppress diversity, when studying national cinema in the era of transnational capitalism.