Postcolonial Issues Research Articles

American Arcadia? The Shift of the Homoerotic Gaze in Herbert List’s Work

The German photographer Herbert List (1903–75) is well known for his pictures from the Mediterranean, metaphysical still lives and portraits of young men. The latter, in particular, have garnered continuous attention due to their beauty and as examples of homosexual aesthetics in prewar and postwar Europe. A lesser-known body of work are his photographs taken in the Caribbean in 1957, including portraits of Black men. This article sheds light on List’s different homoerotic images by situating them in their art historical as well as local context. First, in an analysis of his Oriental and Orientalist representations of young men in Tunisia, I delineate his expansion of classical Greco-Roman tropes. Second, I contrast these images with List’s portraits of people of colour in the Caribbean and his critique of their historical exploitation and current living situation. In both contexts, List is complicit with as well as in contradiction to the power dynamics of European imperialism, and both follows and digresses from white European visual traditions. This analysis expands current scholarship by taking into consideration the issues of race, class and postcolonialism and their impact on the representation of bodies of colour.

Reclaiming African Identity: Analyzing Issues of Postcolonial-ism in Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart"

Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" stands as a seminal work in postcolonial literature, exploring the intricate dynamics between colonizers and the colonized in the context of European colonization's impact on African societies. This abstract delves into the novel's portrayal of postcolonial themes, focusing on the disruption of traditional Igbo culture, power dynamics between Europeans and indigenous peoples, and the psychological and emotional repercussions of colonization. Achebe was motivated to write the novel as a response to European portrayals of Africans in literature, particularly influenced by Joyce Cary's shallow depiction of Africa in "Mr. Johnson." Achebe's use of language, particularly his appropriation of English to convey African experiences, challenges Eurocentric narratives and offers a counter-narrative that centres African perspectives. Through meticulous depiction of pre-colonial Igbo society, Achebe reclaims African history and cultural identity, countering colonial misrepresentations and emphasizing the resilience and dignity of indigenous cultures. Additionally, the abstract discusses Achebe's critique of colonial ideologies, particularly Christianity, which undermines native traditions and fractures communal bonds within Igbo society. By contrasting "Things Fall Apart" with Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," Achebe challenges demeaning depictions of Africans in Western literature and asserts the importance of authentic representation in postcolonial discourse. Overall, "Things Fall Apart" remains a powerful testament to the enduring legacy of colonialism and the ongoing struggle for cultural autonomy and identity in the postcolonial world. By using a postcolonial framework, the study aims to shed light on the socio-political implications of Achebe's work and highlight the importance of diverse narratives and marginalized voices.

Postcolonial Poetics: We Are All Birds of Uganda (2021)

The paper addresses all facets of post-colonialism in Hafsa Zayyan's We Are All Birds of Uganda (2021). The paper purports to delineate the analysis of identity conflict and racism in the novel using a postcolonial perspective. In this paper, the descriptive qualitative method was drawn upon. The postcolonial issues found in this novel are identity conflict, exile, ambivalence, alienation, racism, binarism, and marginalization. The study weaves together and examines the effects of post-colonialism on Indians in two major countries: Uganda and the United Kingdom. As a result, the article aims to examine the novel's marrow from a postcolonial perspective as well as give examples from the novel illustrating the use of postcolonial elements such as memory, identity, otherness, ambivalence, nationalism, space/place, diaspora, hybridity, unbelonging. The paper is significant because it invites Western societies to change their arrogant superiority beliefs based on racial rationales. This paper will explore all the tunnels of post-colonialism in Hafsa Zayyan's We Are All Birds of Uganda (2021). The themes concern identity conflict, racism, and hybridity. The results of the study show how racism and discrimination affect the formulation and perpetuation of postcolonial identity. The study recommends that instilling acceptance, tolerance, and love rather than hatred toward one another is the simplest way to eradicate racism.

The Animal Other: Revisiting Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story’s Jerry and Peter from a Postcolonial Lens

This paper delves into the intricate layers of Edward Albee's The Zoo Story (1958), with Jerry embodying the other and Peter representing the self. The focus is on the rich and complex postcolonial issues of hybrid identity, land, art, and otherness. The fixed identities of Jerry and Peter serve as a lens to understand the dynamics between the self and the other, where every other is shaped by the conquering culture while rejecting its ability to define it. Otherness is a complex and multifaceted concept involving discourse and the dominant group's norms and ideals. To maintain their feeling of superiority, Westerners stigmatized groups such as Others, Barbarians, Savages, and People of Color throughout the colonial era. The conflict is perpetuated through stereotyped ideals and spatial structure. The paper employs the Manichean allegory, the fragmented family metaphor, and the Native American trickster figure to delve into otherness and becoming an animal in the Third Space, Central Park, a unique blend of wilderness and modern life. The sudden appearance of the trickster Jerry in the northern part of the park, leading to a fatal fight for the bench, will expose invisible crimes rooted in animality, sexuality, and criminality discourses of identity-making. Albee's narrative will bring Editor Peter to the shaman's path through tribal storytelling and murder, a powerful tool for promoting sensation for diversity in media, forcing Peter to confront his other and self as the colonizer, colonized, and the animal via the face of the dying animal, Jerry, impossible to deface.

Voicing The Reality of Colonialized Women in The Novel ‘Belenggu’ By Armijn Pane

This study explores the representation of women's subjugation during the colonial period in Indonesia through Armijn Pane's novel "Belenggu." Utilizing an interdisciplinary approach that integrates literary sociology, feminist literary criticism, and postcolonial studies, this research provides a comprehensive understanding of how the novel reflects the author's critique of patriarchal societal structures and colonial impacts on indigenous women. The analysis focuses on the main character, Sukartini, highlighting her struggle for equality and autonomy. Despite being educated and progressive, Sukartini is depicted as trapped within socio-cultural and political constraints, influenced by entrenched patriarchal norms and colonial domination. This study reveals the dual layers of oppression faced by women, emphasizing the compounded struggles due to both gender and colonial subjugation. By examining Sukartini's character, the research illustrates how deeply ingrained patriarchal norms and colonial dominance restrict women's roles and voices. The findings contribute to Indonesian literary sociology by expanding the scope of analysis to include gender and postcolonial issues, underscoring the importance of examining literary works through multiple theoretical lenses. Moreover, the study highlights the role of literature in spreading awareness, providing social critique, and inspiring advocacy for gender equality and justice. "Belenggu" serves as a poignant critique of historical and ongoing gender inequality, reinforcing the relevance of literary analysis in understanding and addressing complex social issues. This research offers a nuanced perspective on the socio-political contexts shaping narratives, advocating for continued scholarly attention to literature as a means of promoting social change and a more equitable society.

Time for Tea: Representations of Postcolonial and Chinese Diaspora Culture and Identity in Chuah Guat Eng’s Echoes of Silence

Tea, the second most consumed beverage in the world, originates from China, and was then brought all over the world through trade, affecting the many different cultures that it encounters along the way. The way a person takes their tea can often reveal parts of their cultural identity and upbringing. This paper aims to examine the representations of the hybrid identities of the Chinese Diaspora in Malaysia through a close reading of tea scenes and tea culture in Chuah Guat Eng’s first novel, Echoes of Silence: A Malaysian Novel, first published in 1994. The novel explores the complex race relations and postcolonial politics and identity in Malaysia and provides an excellent springboard for the examination of Malaysian literary cultural politics, as well as postcolonial issues such as cultural hybridity, and the way that culture spreads and is spread from one part of the world to another and is manifested in diaspora identities. Through such an exploration, I hope to examine the negotiation between the hybridizing culture of being overseas Chinese as well as a British subject simultaneously in relation to representations of tea consumption and culture in Anglophone literature, which may provide more insight into the mentality of Anglophone Malaysian writers concerning issues of cultural identity and diaspora.

Влияние современного язычества и экофеминизма на женские образы в российском игровом кино

This paper displays the results of a system-typological and structural-semiotic analysis of female pagan images in Russian feature films, shown in interrelations with religious movements and ideological trends of modern culture. The relevance of this research is determined by the need of ensuring the ideological security and sociopsychological well-being of modern society. The research was conducted on the material of mystical series, folk horror, ethnographic cinema, and historical fantasy. The study highlights static and dynamic types of female pagan images. The static type exists in two contexts: rural and urban, and the dynamic type develops in two directions: progressive and regressive. The paper detects connection of the victim's motif, which characterizes dynamic female images, with gender and postcolonial issues. Comparison of the ways of representation of female pagan images, discourses of modern paganism and ecofeminism allowed us to conclude about the mutual influence of these three discursive systems. The connection of the system of female images with the modern processes of the revival of paganism follows the pattern of isomorphism. The study shows that Russian cinema has experienced the influence of Western ecofeminism, yet the relationship of the sexes here does not have the character of an open confrontation. The author focuses in this case on the new role and gender identity of women, which is best expressed by the static heroines of mystical series and historical fantasy.

Deciphering the Boundaries of Ottoman Armenian Female Identity in Zabel Yesayan’s My Soul in Exile

Deciphering the boundaries of female identity in the history of thoughts has been a deep-seated problematic issue since the mainstream, throughout the centuries, put strong emphasis on non-feminist discourses. When specifically focused on the Ottoman Empire, the circumstances, and obstacles that women encounter had no difference than their European counterparts. Ottoman Empire which was a land of different cultures, religions, and ethnic groups, witnessed a fundamental shift in terms of women rights in the 19th century. As a pattern of the Empire, the Ottoman Armenian women writers shed light on some postcolonial issues as well as feminist ones almost a century ago before it is theorized. The concepts of unhomeliness and hybridity as universal ideas are proven to be also timeless in the works of Zabel Yesayan, an Ottoman Armenian women writer, particularly in My Soul in Exile. This study aims to analyze the cultural richness of the women’s rights movements in the Ottoman Empire fed by different shareholders, such as Ottoman Armenian women writers in this particular paper. To have a better and deeper understanding of cultural and historical roots of women’s rights movements consolidates the construction of a stronger female identity since it will prove where we started and how we proceeded. Consequently, this paper intends that hearing multiple voices raised from the same geographic location, as well as being aware of and informed about different challenges, would be a watershed moment in the history of women, consolidating our steps and enriching our cultural heritage.

Representation in Media Accessibility

This article is a theoretical essay discussing the potential for the analysis of media accessibility contents and practices (AD, SDH, Sign Language Interpreting, etc.) through a queer feminist lens, which makes it possible to tackle the representation of diversity and non-normativity. Based on a literature review of previous works on the intersection of Queer and Feminist Studies, and Media Accessibility and Disability Studies, it shows the need for this approach based on the nature of media accessibility services, which primarily cater for people with disabilities, a historically excluded minority actively involved in the claim for socio-cultural space and representation. It then proposes a method of work and analysis that combines queer and feminist translation strategies – a method, which is subsequently applied to commercial instances of audio description of diversity. The conclusions highlight the need to bring accessibility closer to contemporary concerns in research, i.e., gender, queer, feminist, and postcolonial issues. Some future lines of research are proposed, such as the expansion of this model of analysis to other accessibility services or the call for interlinguistic studies. Lay summary This article presents theoretical essay which describes the potential of the analysis of media accessibility, those services for the visually impaired and the Deaf, such as audio description, subtitling and Sign Language Interpreting, through a queer feminist lens able to tackle the representation of non-normative characters and narratives: racialised or queer individuals, for instance. Based on a literature review that gathers previous works on Queer and Feminist Studies, and Media Accessibility and Disability Studies, it shows the need for this approach based on the nature of media accessibility services, which target people with disabilities, a minority actively involved in the claim for socio-cultural representation. It then proposes a method of work and analysis that combines queer and feminist translation strategies, which is subsequently applied to real excerpts of audio description of series. The conclusions highlight the need to bring accessibility closer to contemporary concerns in research, i.e. gender, queer, feminist, and postcolonial issues. Some future lines of research are proposed, such as the expansion of this model of analysis to other accessibility services or the call for studies combining different languages.

Is Decoloniality a New Turn in Postcolonialism?

Abstract A new orientation appeared in cultural studies at the turn of the twenty-first century. As it centers around the concept, “decoloniality,” it has been called the “decolonial turn” by some scholars. Since the decolonial turn addresses “decoloniality,” one would think it signals a new orientation in postcolonial studies. Proponents of “decoloniality,” however, have denied it as a concept of postcolonialism and even regretted its conflation with postcolonialism and decolonization. This article critically examines major ideas in the decoloniality program in relation to issues of postcolonialism and argues for its placement in the context of postcolonialism so as to enrich postcolonial studies and advance the project of decoloniality.

Berlin i Niemcy w dwóch adaptacjach filmowych powieści Alfreda Döblina Berlin Alexanderplatz

The subject of this paper is the image of Berlin and Germany that emerges from two film adaptations of the novel Berlin Alexanderplatz. The first one, a 1980 TV series by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, closely follows the letter and spirit of the original 1929 novel; we see a faithful recreation of the material world and the mindset of German society in the final years of the Weimar Republic. In the second one, a 2021 cinema production by Burhan Qurbani, the plot is modernised. The main context of the film is the plight of refugees and economic migrants in contemporary Germany and the problems portrayed are linked to issues of race and post-colonialism.

Investigating Postcolonial Affective Online Communities: A Computational Analysis of Reader Reviews for Contemporary Nigerian Fiction

Abstract: This article approaches postcolonial affect through the combined perspectives of postcolonial and affect studies, audience research, and the digital humanities. It examines more than ten thousand online responses to recent Nigerian diasporic novels with various computer-based methods that bring to the fore the ideologies of emotion informing contemporary postcolonial reading practices. Using a theoretical and methodological framework covering socio-historical, materialist, and linguistic conceptions of community and emotion, this article demonstrates how platforms such as Amazon, Goodreads, and YouTube market postcolonial literary consumption by creating affective online communities of locally and ethnically diversified readers, allowing them to adjust their affective lexicon to the socioeconomic demands of the digital age. The results show that the online distribution and discussion of contemporary Nigerian fiction sideline national, ethnic, and cultural differences in favour of shared middle-class aspirations. Finally, this article illustrates that computational research designs do not exclude but rather invigorate the study of postcolonial issues such as domination, subordination, and exclusion.

The Role of Women Characters in the Select Novels of Salman Rushdie

Salman Rushdie, a postmodernist immigrant, is considered as one the greatest novelist of the 20th century. His apt use of magical realism, incorporates mythology, religion, history, fantasy, and humor into the real world. He narrates his life story and relates it to the national history of India. Rushdie uses the magical realist technique to deal about the postcolonial people of India, and various postcolonial issues. His writing focuses on India’s history, politics, and identity as seen through his narrators. There is a blending of fantasy and reality with his fantastical fiction. Salman Rushdie presents women as strong characters to break free from their oppressive roles through his works. He develops strong female characters who face life with great fortitude and strength rather than meek personality. This research article critically investigates the role of women characters in selected novels by the acclaimed author, Salman Rushdie. A corpus of three major works—Midnight’s Children, The Satanic Verses, and Shame—has been selected for detailed analysis. The study aims to illuminate the varying dimensions of women’s representation, their influence, and the evolution of their roles in these narratives, serving as mirrors to the sociopolitical realities of their time. The article applies a combined theoretical framework of feminist literary criticism and postcolonial discourse to unpack the intricate characterizations and their wider implications. Findings reveal that Rushdie’s women characters are often depicted as multi-dimensional, complex individuals who actively influence the plot and resist conforming to traditional roles. They embody strength, resilience, and liberation in the face of cultural, political, and religious adversities, breaking the mold of passive feminine stereotypes. Despite being enmeshed within patriarchal societal structures, these characters often subvert normative constraints, highlighting the intersection of gender, power, and resistance in Rushdie’s novels. Through the use of magical realism, Rushdie juxtaposes reality with the fantastical, further challenging conventional expectations of women in literature. Rushdie’s depiction of women provides significant insights into the complexities of postcolonial feminist identities, societal norms, and cultural heritage. His novels, while being grounded in their specific contexts, resonate on a universal scale, enriching the discourse around the representation of women in literature.

Postmodern Aesthetics in African Literature

This article examines contemporary critical positions in African literature that mark off perceptible shifts in focus from issues of primal postcolonialism to a more self-reflexive treatment of postmodernism in contemporary African literature. Contemporary African literary works, novels, and plays have become markedly self-reflexive in the way they rewrite one another and draw attention to their own functionality and fictionality. These works present stylistic and thematic departures that challenge the nationalist and realist trend of earlier writing. Creative works further depart from the tradition of “writing back” to the European colonial center by focusing their gaze on local forms of oppression that are seen to parallel classical colonialism. Yet, while critics have separately studied postmodernism and self-reflexivity in African texts, the intersection of the two has not been given sufficient attention. The purpose of this analytical paper then is to decipher postmodernist aesthetics in African literary works, novels and plays, as developed to a higher level of self-consciousness. The specific question I address is to what extent postmodernism expresses itself as an outgrowth of modernism and postcolonialism?
 Keywords: Modernity, postmodernism, postcolonialism, African literary theories and criticisms.

POSISI SUBALTERN DALAM KELUARGA PADA THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS (2008) KARYA ARUNDHATI ROY

This thesis discusses the forms of postcolonialism that operate within a family, through the novel "The God of Small Things'' by Arundhati Roy (2008). The study method used is Text Analysis. The objective of this study is to prove that The God of Small Things is a way the author highlights issues of postcolonialism, female discrimination, and the implementation of the caste system that is still strong in India. The theory used in this study is the Subaltern Theory by Gayatri Spivak (2021). Results of the analysis shows that families can become strategic environments for patterns of power relation to thrive and become a unit in the structure of colonialism in India. The author describes that female figures in novels such as Mammachi, Esta, and Ammu, have a subaltern position within the family. As a result, this novel is a critique of the author's held values about colonialism, caste and patriarchy that has not diminished in Indian society after the end of colonialism.

Analyzing Ambivalence and Hybridized Individualistic Western Cultural Values in Mohsin Hamid’s Moth Smoke

This research explores postcolonial issues like ambivalence, cultural hybridity, mimicry, and identity crisis in Mohsin Hamid’s novel Moth Smoke. The novel presents the picture of Pakistani society surrounded by the presence of western values, cultural rifts and obsessions of materiality, and a weakening bond between the community and moral codes. Bhabha’s theory provides grounds to analyze the selected text. The wealthy characters of the novel, like Ozi and Mumtaz, are pursuing individualistic lifestyles affected by their touch with New York during their studies, while some Pakistani characters, like the drug dealer, Murad, are pursuing English as a basic language of communication only to hide their reality of low origin and stamp their authority and control over other. Ambivalence, hybridity, and mimicry of these characters are analyzed in this research. The hybridized individualistic western values lead Mumtaz to become an infidel to his husband and have extramarital affairs with Daru going against the cultural values of the Pakistani society with rigid patriarchal and sexual control over women. The space of cultural hybridity paves the way for mimicry in most of the instances and also leads to the downfall of Daru, the economically poor class friend of Ozi.

Postcolonialism Goes Queer: Concealments and Disclosures in Dinaw Mengestu’s All Our Names

Abstract: This article discusses All Our Names , the 2014 novel by Dinaw Mengestu, an Ethiopian-born, American immigrant writer. The narrative focuses on two figures: a young Ethiopian dreamer caught in the postcolonial military struggle in Uganda who later seeks safe haven in the US, and a single white American woman in her early thirties named Helen, a social worker at Lutheran Relief Services. Such a configuration certainly suggests the relevance of the postcolonial perspective, but in the novel, issues of race and postcolonialism are intertwined with the identity crisis aggravated by the ethnically polarized world of small-town America. Yet the identity that is destabilized is not merely racial but also sexual, through the convoluted and illicit erotic relationships in which the characters are enmeshed. This article analyzes the concealments of sexual identities and the struggles of the characters, who are reluctant to disclose their selves and the true nature of their relations with each other, first in the context of cultural dislocation engendered by involuntary migration to the United States, and then in the postcolonial setting of war-torn Uganda

Exploring the Unexplored- Postcolonial Issues in the novels of Upmanyu Chatterjee and Arvind Adiga

Indian English fiction writings have flourished after the post-independence period. Most of the Indian English novels were dealing with post-partition, changing social-political values and impact of colonial rule on Indian Psyche. Upmanyu Chatterjee wrote some of the prominent novels focusing on changing values of Indian society in postcolonial India were having high education and all comforts of life, characters in novels finds themselves in a cultural dilemma. Postcolonial literature of India which deals with the decolonization of the minds of colonized communities. Important issues like socio-economic disparities, cultural domination, ethical subjugation, identical marginalization, political nepotism, and corrupt bureaucracy have been brought to the forefront by Arvind Adiga in postcolonial Indian English fictions. This research article examines the different aspect of postcoloniality as reflected in the selective novel writing of Upmanyu Chatterjee and Arvind Adiga.

Double Liminality and Double Marginality in Muslim Women’s Narrative: An Investigation of Uzma Aslam Khan’s the Miraculous True History of Nomi Ali

Liminality and marginality are among the striking postcolonial issues. The concept of liminality, particularly in the postcolonial context, has been theorized by Homi K. Bhabha and he takes it as a third space where a character is neither connected to the old place nor the new one. The study investigates Uzma Aslam Khan’s The Miraculous True History of Nomi Ali the dwelling of the titular protagonist female character who faces dual liminality and dual marginality. The novel, set in the picturesque Andaman Islands circa 1936-42, has been analyzed using postcolonialism as a general framework whereas the two striking issues such as liminality and marginality with double intensity have been explored. The objectives of the study are the evaluation and depiction of doubly colonized subjects located in said islands. The findings highlight the hardships faced by the subcontinental prisoners, especially women who were brought to the far-off islands during the British colonial period. The control over the Andaman Islands has shifted from British to Japanese and then from Japanese to British. Thus, the residents of the islands and the prisoners have been facing the same hardships and troubles. Nomi Ali, the daughter of Haider Ali belongs to a non-prisoner family but has to face double liminality and double marginality. The study is significant because it highlights the female narrative voice from the part of history less spoken/written of.

Public History in Russia: The Past, the Present, and (Thoughts About) the Future

Abstract This discussion’s participants – all public historians working on Russia, albeit from different disciplinary backgrounds and with different areas of expertise – speak about the past and the present of (public) history in the country, and touch upon possible futures. Beginning with an acknowledgment of the immense interest in historical knowledge that characterized the 1990s, the conversation goes on to examine the rise of the official historical politics in Putin’s Russia and their impact on historical science, memory work, and public engagement with the past more broadly. These developments contextualize the establishment of the first public history programs at Russian universities in the early 2010s, discussed here both in their specificities and compared to other countries. At the heart of the conversation is the war of aggression that Russia launched against Ukraine in February 2022. The participants of the discussion see it as a caesura, while at the same highlighting continuities in the regime’s historical politics before and after the invasion. Issues of postcolonialism and decolonization are also raised, as well as the question of (public) historians’ responsibility for the ongoing tragedy.