Postcolonial Context Research Articles

Identity Negotiation And Resistance In The Short Story 'Rose In The Tiger Canal': A Review Of Feminism Poscocolonial

This study examines the negotiation of identity and female resistance in the short story Mawar di Kanal Macan by Iksaka Banu, focusing on the dual oppression faced by women in colonial and postcolonial contexts. Using a descriptive-analytical method and a postcolonial feminist approach, the research explores how colonial and patriarchal power structures shape women's identities and incite resistance. Drawing on theories of identity, subalternity, and hybridity, the analysis investigates how women in subaltern positions negotiate their identities within dominant power structures. Furthermore, it examines how hybridity and intersectionality create spaces for resistance through both subtle and overt actions. The findings reveal that the main character, Adelheid Ewald, navigates complex identity negotiations due to the intersecting influences of colonial and patriarchal dominance, with resistance manifesting in legal and symbolic forms. These insights contribute to postcolonial feminist discourse in Indonesia, offering a deeper understanding of how women assert their agency despite operating within layered systems of oppression. The study suggests further exploration of other literary works that engage similar themes to expand discussions on identity and resistance in postcolonial societies.

Decolonial Language Education and Identity Realization in Africa

This paper explores the relationship between language education and identity realization and the consequences of choosing either an Indigenous or a colonial language education approach. The focus is on the African postcolonial context; however, the arguments are also substantiated by examples from other parts of the world. I argue for a decolonial-multilingual approach to language education, where our conceptualizations of language must be decolonized (freed from colonial rhetoric) so that language use can be explored for its utility. The paper juxtaposes two lines of arguments: the first is an insistence on a return to Indigenous language education as a form of decolonial resistance and warnings against intellectual control through colonial language education. The second line of argument explores the possibilities of compartmentalizing and interrogating language use as an alternative decolonial-multilingual reality, thereby redefining an individual’s relationship with language and its influence on identity realization. As the paper highlights the extent to which language and identity are correlated, I conclude by stressing the need to decolonize language if identity realization is to be decolonized.

Decoding Edward Said: A critical review of the genesis of ‘Orient’, ‘Occident’, and ‘Other’.

Purpose: This paper critically examines Edward Said’s seminal concepts of the "Orient," "Occident," and the "Other" within postcolonial discourse, focusing on how these constructs have shaped Western perceptions of Eastern societies. By analyzing Said’s influential ideas, this study explores how Orientalism fostered an intellectual hegemony that underpinned Western dominance over the East. Methodology: The methodology comprises an in-depth literary analysis of Said’s foundational texts, Orientalism (1978) and Culture and Imperialism (1993), alongside a critical review of secondary sources in postcolonial studies, including contributions from Foucault, Gramsci, and Spivak. Findings: Findings reveal that Said’s framework exposes the cultural and political subjugation enforced by the West while uncovering the power-knowledge mechanisms sustaining these inequalities. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The unique contribution of this paper lies in its synthesis of Said’s discourse with contemporary theories of cultural hegemony, providing fresh insights into the enduring impact of Orientalist thought on modern geopolitics and epistemology. This study underscores the ongoing relevance of Said's critique for understanding present-day cultural and intellectual dominance in the postcolonial context.

Book Review: The Copyright Thing Doesn’t Work Here: Adinkra and Kente Cloth and Intellectual Property in Ghana

The Copyright Thing Doesn’t Work Here: Adinkra and Kente Cloth and Intellectual Property in Ghana, by Boatema Boateng, is an excellent case study of the uneasy fit between the global intellectual property (IP) system and postcolonial contexts, as well as a great introduction to challenges in the field for readers seeking more just IP systems. IP makes creative work legible for certain kinds of ownership: it arbitrates who can copy what, and ideally gets somebody paid. But who? The answer, in the case of adinkra and kente cloth, is often not the artisans but the nation-state that claims the work as collectively “Ghanian,” and factories in Asia that scale up production of the designs for their own, cheaper textiles. “IP” overrides the significance of the cloth to its producers and their understandings of copying, appropriate remuneration, and authorship.

Alien Encounters in Twentieth-Century Arabic Science Fiction: Talib Imran’s Ashbah as a Case Study

This essay surveys alien encounters in 20th-century Arabic Science Fiction (ASF). It points out that two characteristics prevail: first, aliens exclusively encounter Arabs; second, aliens are predominantly superior but indifferent to inferior humans. While the first characteristic is understandable, the second one is peculiar; it is odd that a genre written by colonized people and has been described as “emphatically postcolonial” dismisses the power struggle embedded in the superior colonizer-inferior colonized dichotomy. The author of the essay argues that understanding the difference between Jaques Lacan’s concepts of big Other and small other within an Arab postcolonial context allows us to understand this peculiarity better. While these two concepts normally occupy distinct orders in the psyche, they overlap in the collective postcolonial Arabic one. As a result, Arab postcolonial writers are more nuanced in their approach to the colonizer-colonized dichotomy in their works. The author exemplifies this in Talib Imran’s short story Ashbah. Understanding the perception of other in ASF significantly enhances our understanding of postcolonial literature. It also allows us to appreciate the diverse approaches postcolonial writers employ in their endeavors toward decolonization.

Indigenous Knowledge Content & Mathematics Curriculum

Cultural practices present opportunities for Mathematics Education to be more relevant, and effective, especially in post-colonial contexts. Despite national policies emphasising integration of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) into school curricula, there has been limited success in incorporating ethnomathematics into Mathematics teaching. We exploredgeometrical concepts inherent in traditional baskets produced by Aawambo women, an ethnic group in northern Namibia. We identified specific geometrical concepts that can be linked to the junior secondary school Mathematics syllabus. We employed ethnographic observations, interviews with local basket makers and focus group discussions with Mathematics junior secondary school teachers for triangulation. Furthermore, we adopted an interpretive paradigmusing a multi-modal method to source empirical data that demonstrated relevance to the curriculum. We explored socio-cultural perspectives of women and artefacts (baskets) to compare the subject matter from literature. The findings revealed common concepts as well as the ethnomathematical content not yet incorporated in the junior secondary school Mathematics curriculum comprising of symmetry (axial symmetry) and geometrical transformation (shear and translation). The study has implications for decolonizing western Mathematical practices through adoption ethnomathematics approaches across Africa.

Attempting to Break Binary Oppositions of East and West: Hanan Al-Shaykh’s “I Sweep the Sun off Rooftops”

Abstract Hanan Al-Shaykh’s, “I Sweep the Sun off Rooftops”, calls for cross-cultural dialogue between different cultures. The text explores the cultural tensions that shape an individual’s identity within the postcolonial context. This article examines an encounter in the text between the Moroccan protagonist and her English boyfriend, his sister and his friends in London. Engaging in dialogue between multiple postcolonial theories such as Frantz Fanon’s concept of “absolute depersonalization”, Edward Said’s Orientalism and “contrapuntal consciousness” – Mary Louise Pratt’s theory of transculturation and Homi Bhabha’s notion of “hybridity”, this research studies how the processes of transculturation and hybridity can act to transcend cultural clashes and East–West divisions. The author resorts to using colonial tropes or Orientalist stereotypes to eventually subvert these problems but, at times, this causes ambiguity and contradictions in her text. The female protagonist follows a non-linear trajectory, experiencing various stages before she reaches a hybrid state; these stages involve a fascination with London, cultural clashes, self-assertion and integration, incorporating cultural crossing and hybridity. The female protagonist slips back and forth from one stage to another with all her experiences contributing towards the attainment of cultural dialogue.

Social Reproductive Labor and Uto/Dystopia: An Analysis of Leila, Midnight Robber and Woman World

ABSTRACT Contemporary science fiction and speculative fiction with utopian/dystopian aspects from South Asia and the Caribbean have rarely been studied in tandem. Furthermore, no scholarly work has analyzed such texts produced under conditions of contemporary capitalism in the light of social reproduction theory which considers social reproductive labor that rejuvenates labor power. I study Leila (2017) by the Indian writer Prayaag Akbar, Midnight Robber (2000) by the Jamaican-born Nalo Hopkinson, and Woman World (2018) by the diasporic Indian writer Aminder Dhaliwal to connect social reproductive labor and utopianism and argue that social reproductive labor rejuvenates the labor power of utopian agents in social reproductive spaces such as homes, schools, hospitals, gardens etc. resisting dystopian conditions, nurturing hope, and rejuvenating utopian thinking. I question how utopianism is related to social reproductive labor in postcolonial contexts of the Global South, and propose that 1) dystopian scenarios are brought about by control of social reproductive spaces and 2) progress/betterment is actualized with renewal and rejuvenation via social reproductive labor. I contend that relating twenty-first-century utopianism to social reproduction is a valuable and novel approach, especially in postcolonial contexts where conditions of labor have been determined by complex histories of colonialism, enslavement, and indentured labor.

Ethnic Identification among Mixed Children in a Post-colonial Asian City: A Case in Hong Kong

This paper attempts to discuss how the identification of multi-racial/ethnic children is influenced by their parents’ race/ethnicity in the context of the post-colonial perspective in East Asia. By using data from the Hong Kong 2016 by-census, we have illustrated the patterns of multi-racial/ethnic children’s ethnic identification when either father or mother is Chinese in a post-colonial context. We identified three major patterns. First, the ethnic composition of parents, especially when they involve a Chinese (the majority group) or South Asian parent, has a strong relationship with how the parents identify their children’s ethnicity. Second, colonial racial schemas seem to influence the ethnic identification of children to a large extent. Third, the patterns show the relatively disadvantaged status of South Asian identity under the post-colonial Hong Kong context.

The hunger strike as a biopolitical technology: re-reading the 1981 Irish republican prison protest

ABSTRACT This article uses the case of the 1981 Irish republican prison protest to show that indefinite hunger strikes can force Euromodern states to the negotiating table by undercutting their commitment to good government. Drawing on a Foucauldian analysis of biopower and political reason, I argue that these acts of willed self-starvation exert pressure on state officials by exploiting a tension between the modern state’s juridical claim to sovereignty and its biopolitical investment in fostering life. In the case of the famed IRA hunger strike on the H-Blocks, the archive shows that the Thatcher government experienced more pressure to reach a negotiated settlement than the prime minister or her top advisers publicly acknowledged. Such pressure, however, stemmed not from a moral or humanitarian investment in saving the individual hunger strikers’ lives, but instead from officials’ biopolitical concern that the protest was undermining British attempts to restore ‘life as usual’ in the conflicted region. Ultimately, Thatcher was willing to let ten of the Irish republican strikers die rather than grant them any concessions that might indicate they were political prisoners. The article closes by showing how an indefinite hunger strike’s efficacy is often foreclosed in securitized and postcolonial contexts like that of Northern Ireland, where the protesters can be framed as a ‘biopolitical remainder’ that is allowed to die so that the broader society might thrive.

Translating disaster resilience: How values, world views and politics complicate interpretation and implementation

Globalized climate change and ecological collapse discourses have created a universally relatable conceptual arena within which institutional actors’ debate, design and implement interventions to create ‘disaster resilient cities’ in the Global South. The implications of resilience ideologies and practices adopted from the Global North can have detrimental and counterproductive effects when translated into interventions in postcolonial countries like Pakistan. In this research paper, we use interviews and discourse analysis to underscore the techniques, rationalities, and framings mobilized by governmental and non-governmental actors in the name of ‘reducing risks’ and building ‘disaster resilience’. Within this arena, Pakistani institutional actors create, mimic, and adapt normative resilience trajectories influenced by international resilience standards that do not align, or worse, conflict with the spiritual, cultural, and postcolonial contexts and values of communities they engage with. Imposition of international resilience standards may result in disconnected top-down interventions that overlook the vulnerabilities of local communities deemed as ‘beneficiaries’ and misallocate funds in favor of ineffective projects and programmes, ultimately missing opportunities for meaningful change. While building upon existing urban resilience efforts in Pakistan is important, it is critical to recognize that merely pursuing resilience as an outcome is not enough. Fulfilling basic needs should take precedence over resilience efforts, particularly when the goal is not only the survival of local communities in the face of escalating climate and disaster risks but also their overall well-being.

Dystopian Humour and Postcolonial Anomie in Femi Osofisan's Midnight Hotel

This article explores the intersection of humour and postcolonial themes in Femi Osofisan's Midnight Hotel through the lens of postcolonial contextualisation. Osofisan, a prominent Nigerian playwright, employs satire and dark humour to depict a dystopian society grappling with the protracted ramifications of colonialism. The play is the author's satirical condemnation of Nigeria’s debased value system, as he deconstructs a wasteland of underdevelopment, corruption, and amorality. The aim of the paper is to analyse how Osofisan critiques power structures, societal norms, and the failures of postcolonial governance through humour. Central to this analysis is the concept of "postcolonial anomie," referring to the moral and social disorientation experienced in societies transitioning from colonial rule to independence. Utilising a close textual analysis of the play’s major elements, the research methodology involves examining how Osofisan employs humour to depict and critique the dystopian reality of postcolonial Nigeria. The findings reveal that Osofisan's portrayal of postcolonial anomie through humour adds complexity to the narrative, highlighting both the absurdity and tragedy of the characters' predicaments. Moreover, the article uncovers how Osofisan incorporates dystopian elements to underscore the consequences of unchecked power and corruption, offering a cautionary tale about the dangers of authoritarianism and neocolonialism. By blending satire with poignant social commentary, Midnight Hotel emerges as a powerful vehicle for critiquing contemporary issues within the postcolonial context. In conclusion, this article contributes to the understanding of Osofisan's literary legacy and the role of humour in interrogating complex sociopolitical dynamics in postcolonial societies.

AI-Driven Governance: Transforming Public and Addressing Legacy Issues in Post-Colonial Africa

This paper examines the transformational potentials that artificial intelligence (AI) may hold to reshape our public policies and methods of administration in the unique post-colonial context of Africa. We thus seek to unearth how AI technologies can be employed at a continental scale in the remedy of legacy issues arising from colonialism including; governance inefficiency, literacy gaps, and inequitable service delivery across the continent. From critically analyzing the application of AI in various public sectors, our research seeks to unveil opportunities for AI in inclusive decision-making processes to improve transparency as well as tailoring public service delivery to the diversified needs of African populations. The paper describes the way forward in the adoption of AI solutions that involve issues on a variety of considerations, infrastructure requirements, financial obstacles, and capacity development, among others. Highlighting the potential of AI in governance, this research underscores the place of local innovation stakeholder engagement, and international collaboration in assuring that AI plays out as a development lever for both sustainable development and empowerment in post-colonial Africa.

Spatial Dynamics in African Literature: Analyzing Rural and Urban Representations in Colonial and Postcolonial Contexts

This paper explores the interplay between colonial and postcolonial spatial dynamics in African literature, focusing on both urban and rural landscapes. It investigates how Anglophone and Francophone African writers portray the intersection of historical and fictional settings, highlighting the influence of colonialism on African topography. By analyzing literary depictions of traditional versus dominant cultures, the study assesses the enduring colonial impact on African landscapes and its reflection in modern and contemporary sub-Saharan fiction.

A sovereign grant and a franchised state: Tin mineral supply chains in south Kivu of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

In resource extraction regions, nation-states tend to be depicted as the legal authority sanctioning profitable mining operations in close collaboration with corporate actors in their domestic territories. Especially in post-colonial contexts, corporate sovereignty is the term deployed by anthropologists to depict the acts of power by legally sanctioned corporate actors within a space of negotiation authorised by the state. A problem arises with this framing of sovereignty in contexts where the international norms of liberal democracy and development are violated due to constraints on the domestic authority of the state. In this scenario, the international order imposes itself to restore the authority of the state by governmentalising the security, territory, and market access of the state. Through ethnographic and field survey research in south Kivu of eastern Congo, I argue that the restoration and extension of state authority is a grant given to the state on condition of the responsible exercise of norms and practices of international markets. The tin, tantalum and tungsten (3T) mineral supply chain in south Kivu are an example of such a grant extended by international market actors and their related resource policy regimes to strengthen the state by franchising its apparatuses through practical mechanisms and discourse aimed at implementing traceability of so-called conflict minerals. Here, sovereignty is a position that is made by international market rule delivered through infrastructure in the form of 3T-mineral supply chains that franchise the state with the aim of optimising its fiscal reach and penetration among upstream mineral producers in south Kivu.

Realising systemic justice-oriented reform in education in postcolonial contexts

Drawing on and responding to the articles in this special collection, this provocation makes the case that realising justice in education requires a focus on the processes and politics of justice-oriented reform in postcolonial, low- and middle-income counties (LMICs). In implementing reform, it is argued that it is crucial to take account of similarities and differences in context between LMICs. At the heart of reform must be a holistic, coherent and systemic approach at the level of the education system of the institution. Key priorities include reforming the curriculum, investing in educators as agents of change and developing endogenous system leadership that can drive justice-oriented reform. Here, however, it is necessary to engage with the politics of justice-oriented reform, including challenging global, neoliberal agendas, democratising the governance of education and engaging with popular struggles for social, epistemic, transitional and environmental justice.

Exploring Female Agency in Abdulrazak Gurnah’s By the Sea: A Postcolonial Feminist Analysis

This study examines the portrayal of female agency in post-independence Zanzibar, as depicted in Abdulrazak Gurnah's novel By the Sea. Specifically focusing on the characters Asha, Bi Sara, and Bi Maryam, the study employs Gayatri Spivak's theoretical framework to analyze the interactions and responses of these characters in the face of oppressive forces and marginalization. The research sheds light on how these female characters navigate power dynamics, confront their lower social status, and resist oppression through nuanced strategies, particularly using silence. Through a detailed exploration of the characters' experiences, this study seeks to contribute to a deeper understanding of the agency and resilience of marginalized women in colonial settings. Ultimately, this research aims to underscore the significance of silence as a tool for resistance and endurance, highlighting its role in challenging prevailing narratives and advocating for women's rights in postcolonial contexts. Keywords: Abdulrazak Gurnah, colonialism, female agency, postcolonialfeminism, Patriarchy

BIOREGIONAL IDENTITY AND DISPLACEMENT: A STUDY OF HOME, MEMORY AND SPATIAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN 'A HOUSE FOR MR. BISWAS’

This paper examines V.S. Naipaul's 'A House for Mr. Biswas' through the lens of bioregionalism, focusing on the interplay between identity, displacement, and spatial consciousness. By analyzing the protagonist's quest for a home within the context of colonial Trinidad, this study explores how bioregional identity is shaped, challenged, and reimagined in the face of cultural and geographical displacement. The research employs close textual analysis and draws on theoretical frameworks from bioregional studies, postcolonial theory, and spatial theory to investigate the novel's portrayal of home, memory, and place-based identity. Findings suggest that Biswas's struggle for a house represents a broader search for bioregional belonging in a colonized space, highlighting the complex relationship between individual identity and place in postcolonial contexts. This paper contributes to the growing body of literature on bioregional approaches to postcolonial studies and offers new insights into Naipaul's seminal work.

GENDER AND LINGUISTIC REPRESENTATION IN ROHINTON MISTRY'S NOVELS

This article delves into the nuanced portrayal of gender and linguistic representation in Rohinton Mistry's acclaimed novels, particularly "Such a Long Journey" and "A Fine Balance." Mistry, a prominent figure in contemporary literature, is known for his intricate exploration of the Parsi community in India, a focus that allows him to engage deeply with issues of identity, culture, and societal norms. This study examines how Mistry constructs gender identities and employs linguistic diversity as tools for both narrative development and social critique.The analysis highlights Mistry's depiction of gender roles, revealing a complex interplay between traditional expectations and individual agency. Female characters in Mistry's works, such as Dilnavaz and Dina Dalal, are portrayed within the confines of conventional gender roles but also exhibit significant resilience and strength, challenging patriarchal structures in subtle yet profound ways. These characters' experiences underscore the broader societal constraints faced by women and their strategies for navigating and sometimes subverting these limitations.Linguistically, Mistry's novels are characterized by a rich tapestry of languages, including Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, and English. This multilingual approach reflects the diverse linguistic landscape of India and serves as a critical commentary on social stratification and cultural identity. The use of English, in particular, is often associated with social status and colonial legacy, highlighting issues of power and privilege. Mistry's nuanced use of language not only enhances the authenticity of his characters and settings but also deepens the thematic exploration of identity and resistance.By focusing on these elements, the article contributes to a broader understanding of how literature can reflect and critique societal norms, particularly in postcolonial contexts. Mistry’s work, with its emphasis on marginalized voices and cultural diversity, offers a valuable lens through which to examine the complexities of gender and language in shaping individual and collective identities. This study underscores the significance of Mistry's novels in the ongoing discourse on cultural identity, social justice, and literary expression.

Will the ‘Real Reader’ Please Stand Up? ‘Bookishness’ in Amitav Ghosh’s The Shadow Lines

This essay examines the palpable presence of books and the printed word in Amitav Ghosh’s The Shadow Lines (1988) and its entwinement with the brief, “bookish” life of the character Tridib, who plays a pivotal role in the narrative. It draws upon a phrase from Amitav Ghosh’s oeuvre–the “real reader”–to explore the idealized figure of the reader and storyteller embodied by Tridib. This idealized figure, as this essay highlights, has a history stretching back to the early days of print in colonial India, and important antecedents in the modern Bengali literary canon. It is also a figure constituted by material dimensions of book-ownership and by dominant ideologies on the cultural value of book-owning and reading. What does the tale of the “bookish” storyteller stand for in the postcolonial context, in a narrative that holds his readerly qualities in the highest esteem?