Francis Barker et.al (eds), "Colonial Discourse/Postcolonial Theory" (Book Note)

 

Colonial Discourse, Postcolonial Theory  begins with an editorial introduction that traces the chronology of postcolonial studies, summarizes the theoretical ambiguities surrounding the terms 'colonial discourse' and 'postcolonial theory,' and outlines the main points of the contributions. Barbara McClintock questions the utility of the term 'postcolonialism' in a diasporic, neo-colonial world. While the papers cover a variety of topics, they can be broadly categorized into three themes: autoethnography and transculturation, hybridity and identity, and nationalism and minority cultures.

 

In the realm of autoethnography and transculturation, Mary Pratt introduces the concept of the 'contact zone,' exploring the space where the colonized respond and resist colonial intervention. She uses Guaman Poma's 1613 New Chronicle and the 1980 tabla de Sarhua as examples of autoethnographic texts, where the colonized reimagine themselves through the idioms of the colonizing power. Annie Coombes examines the Benin bronzes to illustrate how museums and exhibitions may inadvertently reinforce or conceal the asymmetries of colonial power while emphasizing hybridity and heterogeneity in postcolonial conditions. Zita Nunes delves into Brazil's modernista movement in the 1920s, highlighting its political project to establish a national identity independent of European models while contending with a modernist ethnographic discourse on miscegenation and racial hierarchization.

 

The theme of hybridity and identity is explored by Simon During, who analyzes Enlightenment antifiliative theory in Rousseau and Diderot as embedded in processes of 'self-othering.' Peter Hulme uses the novel Wide Sargasso Sea to demonstrate how postcolonial readings can be reconstructed by acknowledging the multiple local histories and identities impacting global culture. Gayatri Spivak contrasts R. K. Narayan's The Guide with its later filmed version, examining the 'neocolonial traffic in cultural identity' through the interplay of English and vernacular languages. David Lloyd seeks to redefine the distinctions between 'minority discourse' and 'ethnic culture,' transforming both concepts for self-critique.

 

The third theme, nationalism and minority cultures, is addressed by Graham Pechey, who shows how the emancipatory project outlined in South Africa's 1955 Freedom Charter has been overshadowed by micro-political practices in the 'post-Apartheid' state. Benita Parry, contrary to Pechey, argues for the indispensability of anti-colonial nationalism to the decolonizing project, emphasizing the political strengths of 'nativism.' Neil Lazarus revisits Fanon's critique of bourgeois nationalism while leaving space for 'nationalitarian' consciousness. Renato Rosaldo critiques Benedict Anderson using the Ilongots in the Philippines, proposing 'cultural citizenship' as a way to reconcile nationalitarian solidarity and ethnic diversity.