McCallum and Faith (eds), "Linked Histories: Postcolonial Studies in a Globalized World" (Book Note)

 

In Linked Histories: Postcolonial Studies in a Globalized World, McCallum and Faith provide insight into the potential landscape of a globalized post-colonial studies field. Although post-colonial and globalization studies intersect, there is a limited exploration of these intersections. Globalization's focus on cultural materialism and capital's constitutive forces across borders doesn't neatly align with post-colonialism's emphasis on decolonization, subaltern historiography, and the persistence of historical perspectives. The volume by McCallum and Faith fulfills its promise by establishing connections between post-colonialism and globalization, with a specific focus on history as the foundation for these connections.

 

Mary Lawlor's essay on the Shoshone Tribal Cultural Centre and Bill Ashcroft's essay on post-colonialism in Latin America delve into how history challenges and facilitates a more global approach to post-colonial studies. Lawlor explores the cultural centre as a site negotiating tourism and historiography, moving away from typical discussions of authenticity. She suggests that contemporary Acoma Indians have appropriated mainstream tourism and historiography methods, providing Euro-Americans with insights into their own culture and history.

 

Ashcroft's meditation on testimonial literature reveals the permeability of boundaries between authentic and artificial cultural forms. He contends that testimonial literature, positioned at the intersection of literature and history, questions standard forms and redefines the notions of literature and history. Both essays extend post-colonial inquiries beyond the geographical confines of anglophone North American post-colonialism, emphasizing the centrality of history and its material transmission.

 

In their discussions concerning post-colonial studies in the context of China and Maori political activism, Wang Ning and Victor Li challenge the boundaries of the field. Victor Li, exploring the works of Rigoberta Menchu, Edouard Glissant, and Chinua Achebe, critiques Simon During's suggestion that Maori political activists do not require post-colonialism, contending that post-colonialism might infiltrate the Maori lexicon as a loanword, adapting to local needs while retaining its metropolitan origin. Li reaffirms the heterogeneous nature of resistance, countering attempts to homogenize post-colonial theory in the Chinese academy.

 

In a two-part essay, Victor Li evaluates the reception of major post-colonial scholars like Edward Said, Gayatri Spivak, and Homi Bhabha in Chinese academic circles. He opposes the push within the Chinese academy to "decolonize Chinese culture and literary discourse," cautioning against valorizing a 'pure' Chinese language and literature divorced from European influences. Rey Chow's contribution underscores the potential presence of fascism beneath idealistic pursuits.

 

Exploring the globalizing aspect of post-colonial studies from the standpoint of migrancy and dislocation, the essays by Revathi Krishnaswamy and Vijay Mishra emphasize the need for attention to class and gender, challenging the prevailing 'mythology of migrancy.' Krishnaswamy critiques the paradigmatic post-colonial figure Salman Rushdie, while Mishra explores the possibilities of Lyotard's differend in understanding the relationship between the diasporic and the post-colonial.

 

Essays by Rob Cover, Monika Fludernik, and Kalpana Sheshadri-Cooks further contribute to the globalization of post-colonial studies. They examine the intersection of queer identities and class, delve into the psychological legacies of post-colonialism, and scrutinize the workings of the margins within post-colonial studies.