Postcolonial Criticism

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postcolonial criticism (417)

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A way of examining literature that focuses on the perspectives of those who are from previously colonized places in terms of psychological, ideological, social, intellectual, political factors and their perceptions concerning art and beauty. Analyzes similarities and differences between postcolonial peoples. Involves determining whether a piece supports colonialism or challenges it by the characteristics they give colonized people, the colonizers, and how positively or negatively they portray the colonizing culture’s effects on the colonized peoples.

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British Colonial Domination (418)

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Period of time around 1500-WWII where “the sun never set on the British Empire” because Great Britain had more colonies by far than any other imperial power.

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Postcolonial as Subject Matter (417)

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Looks at literature from cultures that have been under colonial rule and how their experiences are reflected/told in each piece.

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Postcolonial as Theoretical Framework (417)

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Looks at how colonialist and anti-colonialist ideologies work politically, socially, culturally, and psychologically and examples of these.

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Cultural Colonization (419)

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Forcing those that one colonizes (as a colonial power) to mirror or mimic one’s own government, education, culture, and values.

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Colonialist Ideology/ Colonialist discourse (419)

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The justifying ideas the colonizer uses to prove that they themselves are better and more worthy of power.

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Othering (420)

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Dehumanizing a person or group by over-emphasizing their differences in regards to you. Can be demonic or exotic. Demonic =evil and exotic=primitive/connected to nature

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Eurocentrism (420)

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Comparing the various “worlds” and making nations with European cultures the “first world,” a.k.a better off than everyone else. Non-European countries are negatively portrayed.

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4 Worlds of Eurocentrism (420)

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1st—Britain, Europe, United States
2nd—white populations of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Southern Africa (sometimes former Soviet Union)
3rd—technologically developing countries such as India, African countries, Central and South American countries, and Southeast Asian countries.
4th—indigenous populations subjugated by white settlers and governed by the majority culture surrounding them, such as Native Americans, aboriginal Australians, and sometimes minority non-white populations in 1st _____

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Universalism (361-362)

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Belief that the best literature reflects the “average experience” of a human, i.e., the experience of a white, European, straight male. This has been used to prevent the canonization of literature that utilizes other points of view.

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Orientalism (420)

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Making “Oriental” cultures into the “other” by giving them negative characteristics artists are sometimes afraid to identify within their own cultures. Orientals are typically claimed to be poor, unchanging, stupid, and over-romanticized.

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Colonial Subjects (421)

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Those colonized by Britain who believe European culture is the better culture.

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Mimicry (421)

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Trying to “fit in” with the culture of one’s colonizers.

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Double Consciousness (421)

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When one must look at the world in two different ways because they are exposed to two sets of cultural ideologies: the colonizer’s and the original culture’s.

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Unhomeliness (421)

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The feeling that one does not belong to either culture they’re encouraged to lay claim to.

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Hybridity (422)

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A good solution to cultural confusion and feeling out of place as a colonized people. Involves taking the best of both worlds to create a mixed, new but better identity.

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Nativism/Nationalism (423)

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Using the pre-colonial culture to redeem the value of the previously colonized culture from the perspective of themselves and others by getting rid of Western influence.

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Invader Colonies (424)

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British colonies among non-whites that were established through military force.

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White settler colonies (424)

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The British colonies established among white people, not through military force. Examples: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and southern Africa.

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Neocolonialism (425)

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The modern form of colonialism that uses a developing country’s labor forces to make a profit while not paying the laborers enough for what their labor was worth. This can negatively affect the economy, culture, and environment of the exploited developing country.

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Cultural imperialism (425)

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Taking over another’s culture through the spread of one’s own food choices, fashions, customs, recreational activities, and values.

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subalterns (425)

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low-status groups that are exploited ex-colonials.