There is currently a growing body of research in postcolonial criticism and analysis of Renaissance literature. Inspired by efforts to decolonize the canon, I am interested in studying the roots of colonialism in the Renaissance and its influence on the modern world.
In my second year of undergraduate study, I was introduced to postcolonial literature and theory in an introductory course with Dr. Stanka Radović. Reading polemic texts, as well as ‘subalterns’ writing back or breaking away from the literary canon, made me aware of the political aspect of literature and the political forces that shape both the writing and reading of literature. It awakened a new understanding of the world that I could not neglect, not only when reading literature, …show more content…
It has opened my eyes to the underlying tragedy that British elegance and luxury is built upon, such as the Atlantic slave trade, as well as the spread of the English Empire and the violence this spread entailed. My scientific background in Psychology has been a huge asset for my reading of literature as well because it has allowed me to read into the psyche of characters, and in the context postcolonial studies, it helps understand the psychology of power structures between the colonizer and …show more content…
A postcolonial reading of these texts will not rob them of their literary value but will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the history and politics embedded within. Just as feminist literary criticism has sought a critical reading of literature, challenging sexist notions of femininity and examining the representation of female characters in literature as gendered ‘Others,’ so should postcolonial criticism guide our reading of literature by challenging orientalist, as well as racist representations of the colonial and racial
In my second year of undergraduate study, I was introduced to postcolonial literature and theory in an introductory course with Dr. Stanka Radović. Reading polemic texts, as well as ‘subalterns’ writing back or breaking away from the literary canon, made me aware of the political aspect of literature and the political forces that shape both the writing and reading of literature. It awakened a new understanding of the world that I could not neglect, not only when reading literature, …show more content…
It has opened my eyes to the underlying tragedy that British elegance and luxury is built upon, such as the Atlantic slave trade, as well as the spread of the English Empire and the violence this spread entailed. My scientific background in Psychology has been a huge asset for my reading of literature as well because it has allowed me to read into the psyche of characters, and in the context postcolonial studies, it helps understand the psychology of power structures between the colonizer and …show more content…
A postcolonial reading of these texts will not rob them of their literary value but will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the history and politics embedded within. Just as feminist literary criticism has sought a critical reading of literature, challenging sexist notions of femininity and examining the representation of female characters in literature as gendered ‘Others,’ so should postcolonial criticism guide our reading of literature by challenging orientalist, as well as racist representations of the colonial and racial