Postcolonial Approach Research Articles

Object metamorphosis in colonial contexts: maintaining diversity through global commodities in New Kingdom Nubia (1550–1070 BCE)

ABSTRACT Across the globe, colonization often produces material homogenization. The same objects originating in the metropole become part of assemblages throughout the colony. These assemblages impact different groups inhabiting dominated territories, shaping globalization. Archaeologists have now moved away from homogenizing acculturation-based perspectives to understand contexts where global/colonial objects are adopted in local contexts. Postcolonial approaches emphasizing the agency of the colonized have moved us forward towards archaeologies of cultural entanglements, processes of combination of imposed patterns by the colonizer and cultural inputs of the colonized resulting in innovation. By identifying metamorphoses of global Egyptian-style objects into locally effective objects in colonized Nubia during the New Kingdom, this paper demonstrates the existence of distinctive, yet to be fully understood colonial identities shaped by different experiences of global objects. If colonialism shapes globalization, colonized experiences of global objects end up separating various groups interacting with the same objects across cultural borders according to their varying socio-economic experiences.

Who is the Blame for the Russia-Ukraine war? Feminist and Postcolonial Perspectives on 'Real Politics'

The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine has widely been narrated as having epochal significance with far-reaching implications. For leading historians of Eastern Europe, such as Timothy Snyder (2022) and Serhii Plokhy (2015), what we are seeing is an existential threat to democratic norms. While discussing phenomena of the political world, drawing on a variety of lenses is advantageous; in the case of the Russian-Ukrainian war it is a necessity. This article engages with a combination of lenses provided by feminist and postcolonial theories to critically reflect on the logic, as articulated by Russia's political elites, behind the invasion of Ukraine. It focuses on the role of gender and racialisation in normalising one’s place in the social hierarchy and its ‘appropriate’ behaviour, excusing occupational, violent and genocidal policies under the abstract term of ‘real politics’. This article attempts to trace the way social structures empower gendered and racialised politics, allowing invasions to be justified. Russia-led wars in Ukraine will be discussed as an example of the consequences of such a structure and ideology. This article will firstly underline a feminist and postcolonial approach that addresses the necessity of social hierarchy analysis to reveal the causes of war. Further sections will focus on unpacking Russia’s claims of the legitimacy of its colonial/great-power state project to incorporate Ukraine. I will conclude with a reflection on how the notion of the nation-state, rooted in the ideologies of social hierarchy and colonial domination, can be seen as having fuelled the ongoing war.

Uncanny strangeness in Ubah Cristina Ali Farah’s novel Little Mother

This article explores Ubah Cristina Ali Farah’s novel Madre Piccola/Little Mother through a unique lens diverging from conventional postcolonial approaches. Departing from the predominant focus on Italian postcolonialism, the analysis employs Freudian and Kristevan concepts to examine the interplay of uncanny strangeness within Somali identity and diaspora experiences in Italy. The protagonist, Domenica Axad, embodies this interplay as she navigates between Somalia and Italy, encountering feelings of familiarity and estrangement. The article also examines the deterritorialization of the Somali language, tracing its displacement alongside the characters, and emphasizes its connection with Freudian and Kristevan concepts rather than its subversive potential. Through the embedding of Somali words within the Italian narrative, the novel achieves an uncanny strangeness, enriching our understanding of cultural hybridization and dynamics of migration in diasporic literature.

The Representation of Japanese Working Women and the Labor Standard Law of Japan – a Feminist Postcolonial Approach

Since the 1947 Constitution was drafted at the behest of the Allied General Headquarters led by the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP), it is only fitting to scrutinize the media directly under it. One of the policies that should have affected Japanese women’s status is the Labor Standard Law. With this Law as a reference point, this paper anchors the SCAP’s ideals for Japanese women in terms of labor whilst I look at the portrayal of Japanese women in the 1948 issues of Pacific Stars and Stripes, an unofficial military daily newspaper under the supervision of SCAP. Through the lens of feminist postcolonialism with power and propaganda as a framework, I posit that the images of working women published by Pacific Stars and Stripes reinforce the internal contradictions presented by Labor Standard Law, which are accompanied by vivid examples of colonial power plays and the exoticization of Japanese women.

Writing Social Activism in the Refugee Camp in Safi Abdi’s Offspring of Paradise

This article is a critical examination of Safi Abdi’s Offspring of Paradise (2003). It focuses on how Abdi employs a literary perspective to interrogate various socio-cultural and political dynamics in Somalia and their associated outcomes for Somalis. Abetted by close reading and contextual methods, the article explores how the narrative navigates between history and fiction by underscoring family as a domestic space entrusted with power in the making of the geopolitical nation and as a microcosm of the nation that expedites social activism in redressing nations ruined by wars. Using a postcolonial approach, I read how the novel uses the institution of the family as a metonymic space where characters negotiate existence and challenge the nation in an attempt to reconstruct the ‘failed’ nation of Somalia. The central argument of this article is that the novel imagines the family institution as a central pillar that not only complicates the identities of characters in a polarised cosmopolitan society but also plays a proactive role in reforming nations wracked by wars.

The House of God as the House of Salvation for All People

This paper explores the existence of eunuchs in ancient Israel and the Israelites’ reception of them in the postexilic period. Using a postcolonial approach, this paper analyzes the ambiguity of the identities of foreigners and eunuchs, the liminal position they occupy in the Israelite community, the stereotypes they receive, and God’s actions to create a third space for them. The postcolonial reading of Isaiah 56:1-8 shows that there is an opportunity for foreigners and eunuchs who promise to keep the Sabbath and obey God’s covenant to live and become part of the Israelite community. Furthermore, Isaiah 56:1-8 also creates a third space for eunuchs where their dignity will be restored and their names will be immortalized forever. When connected to the Indonesian context, God’s initiative to bring marginalized and rejected eunuchs into the third space—a space of transformation that breaks down all oppressive binaries— becomes news of hope for sexual minority groups in Indonesia who have also experienced trauma and suffering. This interpretation calls for religious communities, including their leaders, to create a warm and loving home for others who are also part of God's family.

Beynəlxalq münasibətlər diskursunda postkolonializm

Turning to history has always been an important tool for understanding international relations, and this trend remains relevant today. However, if earlier researchers mainly focused on individual events and their possible interpretations, now the main attention is focused on determining the historical characteristics of systems and reflecting this legacy in modern international relations. That is why the postcolonial approach, focused on the gradual evolution of colonial relations into the modern system of international relations, has become especially important; postmodernism is used to explain the concept of postcolonialism. In these concepts, an important place is occupied by the terms colonialism and postcolonialism, which seem to be a continuation of each other, despite the fact that they oppose each other. This article explains some of these concepts. Looking at the development and theoretical history of the concept of postcolonialism, it can be concluded that the concept was first used by Edward Said in his work entitled “Orientalism”. In Edward Said's “Orientalism” (1978) [Said, 1978], although many derivative terms from the concepts of colonialism and imperialism are used, the word postcolonialism does not appear even once in this work. No less important than Edward Said's research into the consolidation of postcolonialism as a concept is Subaltern Studies, first developed by Indian Marxist historians in 1982. Thus, although postcolonialism has not yet reached its final form in terms of naming, thanks to the book "The Empire Writes Back" [Ashcroft, Griffiths, & Tiffin, 1989] published in 1989, today both the term and the theoretical concept are used in modern scientific circles.

Dependency denial in crisis: Revisiting feminist critiques of dualism

Social theories – from classical accounts to more recent relational theories to feminist and postcolonial approaches – have characterized modernity as an age of proliferating dependency relationships, which, however, enable autonomy as a central value of this very modernity. This tension at the heart of modernity has led societies to deny these dependencies. Recently, crisis dynamics have precipitated abrupt realizations of dependencies on phenomena that are invisibilized, inferiorized and devalued in modern societies. The respective ‘other of reason’ on which autonomous subjectivity depends – including nature, reproduction and the body – increasingly makes itself felt. The underlying logic of dependency denial can be illuminated by revisiting the feminist critique of dualism that offers three ways to overcome dualist thought: dialectics, entanglement and tension. The article discusses these three options in order to develop a normative compass facilitating a critical perspective on dependency denial and its failure in light of current crises.

Gender in Cross-Cultural Encounters: Orientalism and Self-Orientalisation in Chinese-Language Young Adult Fiction

AbstractIn this article, we read and analyse selected young adult novels by Chinese-German author Wei Cheng that address the dilemmas faced by young female Chinese immigrants in Western countries. The aim is to explore the ways in which the construction of femininity and gender are inextricably bound up with categories of race and ethnicity in China-West encounters, and to probe the dynamics of such encounters embedded in the larger socio-political power structures. Through a critical analysis of the representation of Chinese femininity vis-à-vis Western masculinity, the essay interrogates the workings of the “Orientalist gaze” in relation to patriarchy and gender politics. The portrayals of the cross-racial encounter in Shaonv de Hong Chenyi (The Girl’s Red T-Shirt), which reiterate received ideas about the Orient, may be read as a product of self-Orientalisation, where the intriguing position of the adolescent Chinese girl prompts a rethinking of postcolonial gendered subjectivities. While self-Orientalisation may work to legitimate the discourse of Orientalism, the reading of Shaonv de Hong Faqia (The Girl’s Red Hairpin) reveals the ways in which self-Orientalisation could function as strategic essentialism that allows the female “Oriental” Other to gaze back and stand Orientalism on its head. The marriage between gendered and postcolonial approaches to children’s and young adult texts promises to act as a crucial intervention in the global struggle against hegemony.

Perlawanan dan Pembebasan Terhadap Kolonialisme dengan Lensa Poskolonial dalam Novel Jejak Langkah Karya Pramoedya Ananta Toer

This research focuses on analyzing the novel "Jejak Langkah" by Pramoedya Ananta Toer with a postcolonial approach. Through the descriptive qualitative method, this research explores the resistance and liberation depicted in the main character, Minke, as a representation of the spirit of resistance and aspirations for Indonesian independence. Minke does not only fight physically, but also through intellectual struggle, identity search, and development of political awareness. Through critical writing and relationships with nationalist figures, Minke builds national consciousness among the people and rejects Dutch colonial norms to fight for pride in Indoan identity and culture. This research illustrates the collective struggle to achieve independence and national dignity in the context of colonial colonization.

The Panama Songs: Colonial Structures in US Popular Music between 1900 and 1920

Abstract The Panama Canal was officially opened on 15 August 1914. At this point, the United States had been the builder of a difficult and controversial project for ten years and was to be the operator of the most important link between the Atlantic and the Pacific. To do this, it first helped Panama to independence, immediately annexing the canal zone. Thus, the construction of the canal is a classic lesson in colonial, (inter-)national politics and its interdependencies in the early twentieth century. At the same time, Panama was a fairly widespread topic of US popular music. This article investigates the effects of politics on cultural life, using the example of popular music referring to Panama. Applying a postcolonial approach, it will study the musical ways in which the United States constructed its pseudo-colony Panama as an Other in order to exercise power there and continue to form its own national identity.

Off-Centring the Real in Postcolonial Fiction

Postcolonial literature primarily emerged as a response to colonial representations of reality, so it comes as no surprise that a persistent dialogue with the real is one of its defining features. Since its initial attempt to question colonial constructions of the real and engage in self-representation, postcolonial literature has found “new angles at which to enter reality”. By exploring some of the commonly employed modes and genres in both early and contemporary postcolonial fiction, ranging from realism, magic(al) realism, historiographic metafiction, and science fiction to the Gothic, each illustrated by representative authors and works, this article intends to give a brief overview of postcolonial approaches to reality.

Postcolonial ecologies in cyberspace: on the “anti-environments” of Singapore Art Week 2022s’ Somewhere in Bedok and Peripheral Spaces

ABSTRACT This article explores how digital art exhibitions and bioecology interact in the contemporary Singaporean cultural milieu. Applying theoretical tools from recent work in environmental and oceanic media studies, I argue that mediations of digital art exhibitions in the postcolony reveal postcolonial approaches to bioecology. Digital art exhibitions can provide a frame to understand humans and bioecology as relationally – that is to say, ecologically – embedded with each other, confusing boundaries between the material and immaterial, universal and particular.

Visibilizing Empowerment as Topological Resonances: Analysis of a Participatory Mapping and Enumeration Project as Strategy for Active Waiting for Housing in Khayelitsha (South Africa)

Informal settlement livelihoods in South Africa are characterized by a structural waiting for housing improvements. Participatory mapping and enumeration (PME) are a key tool for Capetonians NGOs to tackle urban injustice and improve livelihoods. Unfortunately, PME evaluation and empowerment dynamics are often linked and reduced to the PME final output (data, cartographic artefact, etc.). Based on an action-research PME project implemented by a Capetonian local NGO and by S section informal settlement’s community (Khayelitsha), this paper explores PME as an empowering strategy for activating the waiting phase for housing. Drawing on postcolonial approach, this paper frames empowerment as “topological resonances” enabled during PME through the dual dynamics of “translation” and “connectedness.” Translation and connectedness are applied to the case study of S Section and allow for the capture of interstitial yet critical empowerment dynamics that go beyond PME outcomes alone.

Exploring the impact of social media on Orientalist representations and its effects on Syrian refugees in Turkiye

This article examines the interplay between representations and social media, taking a postcolonial approach and using Orientalist representations of Syrian refugees in Turkiye as a case study. In this regard, the article first explores the role of social media in perpetuating derogatory representations and marginalising Syrian refugees in Turkiye. Based on qualitative content analysis and survey methods, the article finds that social media may facilitate an easy and rapid reproduction of Orientalist representations. Moreover, this reproduction reinforces the Western colonial mentality that created Orientalist representations in the first place, further ingraining them in our social and cultural structures. The article also discusses that Orientalist representations on social media perpetuate and justify the various types of attacks against Syrian refugees in Turkiye, which are explored through the concept of digital vigilantism. The article suggests that social media users must understand and be aware of the potential harm caused by the perpetuation of Orientalist representations and its contribution to digital vigilantism to challenge the drawbacks of social media.

The Position of Children's Characters in Children's Animation Postcolonialism Studies

Children's literature has now begun to shift to digital media, known as children’s animation. Instead of children's literature being created for children, these works are written, edited and distributed by adults. This shows that adults (parents) have full power over the work that children will consume. Colonialism theory then questions what it means to write for children. This research appears with the real assumption of where the child is positioned in children’s cyber literature. The postcolonial approach is used to verify this assumption. The results show that children are treated as objects, a means to endure real problems faced by adults. It appears that writing for children in addition to exploring is also stuffing and imposing the will for the needs of adults: guiding children, training children through the process of reaching civilization which is again the power of adults to define it.

A duplication of marriages? An ethnographic account and assessment of the necessity for both traditional and Christian marriages for African Christians

This article is based on ethnographic research for a doctoral study that was conducted in 2016 among the Ndau people of Chimanimani, Zimbabwe. The article described and assessed the practice of some African Christian churches, especially missionary founded churches, to conduct ‘white church weddings’ after getting married customarily. The study employs a postcolonial approach as a theoretical lens. It argues for a hybridized form of Christian marriage that takes into cognizance the validity of African customary marriages in and for themselves, while at the same time appreciating the importance ascribed to ‘church weddings’ in especially missionary-founded churches. The study uses the case study of the Ndau people, but the phenomenon is widely practised among African Christians across the continent. In the article, doctoral thesis findings were related with Erlank’s (2014) work on marriages in South Africa. The article offered description, critique (postcolonial, gender, class), and suggested interventions. Critical phenomenology was utilized to assess the findings and to expose the power relations that exist in the hierarchical treatment of African customary marriages as of an inferior status compared to church weddings. The economic aspect of the duplication of marriages was also foregrounded. The article underscores the importance of ethnographic research on religion as a human phenomenon in Southern Africa and beyond, as well as a critical assessment of the phenomenon. It provided several possible interventions for African missionary-founded churches.

«Nasledstvo razorennyh» kak syuzhet postkolonial'noj literatury: bor'ba za identichnost'

This study utilizes the postcolonial bildungsroman in addition to H. Bhabha’s postcolonial approach to explore the identity development of Indian characters in K. Desai's novel “The Inheritance of Loss” (2006). This novel is well recognized in the postcolonial literature in modern times and shares the dilemma of identity experienced by the Indian characters.

The Construction of Human Rights Narratives in the 2022 World Cup: A Critical Examination of US and Qatari News Coverage

This study examines the tensions in the representations of human rights discourses in the context of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Primarily drawing from postcolonial approaches, it investigates how the construction of human rights narratives were deployed by two leading publications representing US ( The New York Times—NYT) and Qatari ( Gulf Times—GT) viewpoints. In doing so, the study probes the representation and self-portrayal of Qatari cultural, political, and socio-economic repertoire by the NYT and GT, respectively. Results from a qualitative content analysis highlight how the NYT emphasized the exotic Otherness of Qatar and its supposed inability-cum-illegitimacy to host the tournament. Alternatively, GT demonstrated a paradoxical disdain and desire for Western validation. Overall, the narratives in the NYT and GT tell a story of an ambivalent relationship between the West and Qatar situated in the historical context of colonialism and reflective of the ongoing, reciprocal dialogue between publications targeting English speaking audiences.

Postsocialism in International Relations: Method and critique

Abstract While postcolonial approaches to International Relations have offered new concepts, methods, and political imaginaries of global politics, postsocialism has been absent as an analytical and political approach. Postsocialism has been mainly a descriptive term naming the temporal transition of the Second World to liberal democracy and market economy or the geopolitical space of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. Building on literature that has connected postsocialism and postcolonialism analytically and politically, particularly feminist work that has reclaimed postsocialism to understand the global legacies of socialism in the present, this article proposes to unpack dimensions of postsocialism as method and critique. Postsocialism as method attends to how socialist legacies endure and are transformed in the present while holding together contradictions and ambivalences. Postsocialism as critique is oriented to transversal solidarities and the epistemic vocabularies that can undergird these struggles. To trace these dimensions of method and critique, the article is situated empirically within debates about borders and migration. Postsocialism is not intended to replace or displace other critical approaches but to pluralise our vocabularies and multiply political interventions.