African American Studies and Postcolonial Studies

 

African American studies and postcolonial studies, while distinct fields, share a common objective: to challenge and disrupt racial hierarchies. Analyses of power dynamics between colonizers and the colonized often parallel examinations of slavery and the relationships between masters and slaves. In both the United States and other postcolonial contexts, the enduring reality of discrimination and racism against minority populations serves as a unifying thread, fostering a collective critique of neocolonialism. This sentiment is echoed by renowned black feminist bell hooks, who asserts, "I believe that black experience has been and continues to be one of internal colonialism".

 

There exists a pressing need to decolonize the collective mindset of contemporary America, driving current endeavors to reclaim and unearth minority history and literature. Emerging sociological and literary methodologies, such as Hazel Carby's seminal work "Reconstructing Womanhood: The Emergence of the Afro-American Woman Novelist," prove invaluable tools for recuperating the past and establishing culturally sensitive frameworks for the future. Scholars like Henry Louis Gates, Barbara Christian, Ella Shohat, and Homi Bhabha are bound by a shared determination to engage in a dialogue of resistance and assertion.

African American studies and postcolonial studies share common ground in their exploration of critical issues like representation, essentialism, and nationalism. Within these disciplines, literature and literary theory serve as potent tools for social commentary. Henry Louis Gates advocates for debunking the notion of the supposed superiority of the "Western tradition" over so-called "non-canonical traditions like that of the Afro-American." In his work "The Signifying Monkey," Gates vigilantly addresses the dangers of essentialism, emphasizing the necessity "to create a fresh narrative space for portraying the recurring theme of Afro-American literature, often referred to as the Black Experience".

 

Similarly, Homi Bhabha, a prominent figure in cultural studies and postcolonial criticism, echoes the call to dismantle essentialist perspectives. He underscores the joint endeavor of postcolonial and black critique in reshaping the conditions of expression at the level of signs, cautioning against the mere establishment of new symbols of identity that might inadvertently fuel uncritical "identity politics".

 

Scholarship in African American and postcolonial studies frequently converges. Toni Morrison's "Playing in the Dark" meticulously examines how white selfhood in American literary discourse is shaped by the objectification of "black" presence. Edward Said's groundbreaking work "Orientalism" similarly contends that European culture derives strength and identity by positioning itself in opposition to the Orient, forming a surrogate and often subterranean self.

 

In the anthology "Race, Writing and Difference" edited by Henry Louis Gates, notable postcolonial critics like Gayatri C. Spivak and Abdul R. JanMohamed contribute, showcasing the intersection of these fields. Gates and Kwame Anthony Appiah, a scholar of Afro-American studies with insights into postcolonial theory, co-edit a more recent anthology titled "Identities." These instances of shared scholarship prompt a reconsideration of fundamental questions regarding the politics of reading and writing. They highlight the relevance of scholarly approaches that prioritize culturally attuned modes of engaging in academic discourse.

The confluence of race, ethnicity, and gender politics has sparked thought-provoking discourse within the works of bell hooks, Barbara Christian, and Shirley Anne Williams—all distinguished African American feminist critics. Likewise, the contributions of Gayatri Spivak and Chandra T. Mohanty have been instrumental in these discussions. In this discourse, patriarchy often serves as a metaphor, emblematic of power imbalances and a root cause of colonial and neocolonial injustices. bell hooks, in her work "Outlaw Culture," asserts, "For contemporary critics to condemn the imperialism of the white colonizer without critiquing patriarchy is a tactic that seeks to minimize the particular ways gender determines the specific forms oppression may take within a specific group".

 

However, within this intersection of marginalized perspectives lies the potential pitfall of totalization. Barbara Christian, in her piece "Race for Theory," issues a caution against essentialist portrayals of black womanhood, drawing parallels to the monolithic Black Arts Movement of the 1960s and 70s. Chandra Mohanty similarly advocates against such essentializing tendencies in the discourse surrounding Third World feminism. Both fields, African American studies and postcolonial studies, call for discussions on class. Hooks astutely addresses an often-overlooked issue in cross-cultural feminist dialogue, noting, "We often forget that many Third World nationals bring to this country the same kind of contempt and disrespect for blackness that is most frequently associated with white imperialism".

 

Looking ahead, Ann Ducille's essay, "Postcolonialism and Afrocentricity," not only underscores concerns regarding essentialism in both disciplines but also raises the unsettling possibility of their interchangeability. She observes, "Whereas the critique posed by African American studies and the alternative (non-Eurocentric) worldview asserted by Afrocentricity cut uncomfortably close to home, postcoloniality seems to offer its opposition from a distance—as Gayatri Spivak might say, 'in other worlds'".

 

Scholarship is trending towards a heightened self-awareness of individual, subjective identities. One strategy to counter unproductive generalizations of all "marginalized" voices involves a specific deconstruction of "race." Gates, Christian, and Sara Suleri (as seen in "Identities") are among those who push back against what they perceive as an unproductive homogenization of all "minority" discourses. The reconfiguration of American studies might serve as a fertile ground for commonality, with scholars like Hazel Carby and Mario Garcia challenging foundational tenets of American historiography. Meanwhile, critics advocate for a deeper examination of the overlaps and distinctions between multiculturalism, postcolonialism, and ethnic studies, all while addressing their evolution in light of the persistent specter of cultural insularity.