Pieterse & Parekh , "The Decolonization of Imagination: Culture, Knowledge and Power " (Book Note)

 

"The Decolonization of Imagination: Culture, Knowledge, and Power" is a collection of fourteen essays contributing to the expanding body of literature on postcolonial theory. The lead chapter, titled "Shifting Imaginaries: Decolonization, Internal Decolonization, Postcoloniality," delves into the complexity of colonization and its creation of a fusion of old and new, endogenous and foreign elements, forming a consciousness resistant to straightforward analysis. The editors emphasize that decolonization is an equally intricate process that necessitates the imaginative construction of a new consciousness and way of life, involving both colonizers and the colonized.

 

The decolonization of imagination, as proposed by Nederveen and Parekh, is highlighted as a crucial aspect, emphasizing the relationship between power, culture, domination, and the imaginary. The significance of images is underscored as agents of both difference and communion, shaping boundaries between self and other. The editors explore three modes of engaging colonial imaginaries: anticolonial progression with nationalism and nativism, internal decolonization critiquing these concepts, and postcoloniality departing from binary thinking and embracing cultural pluralism, acknowledging globalization.

 

"Part One: Imaginaries of Domination" consists of six reflections on colonial imaginaries of domination. These chapters form the most compelling and disquieting section of the book. Patrick Brantlinger's contribution, "'Dying Races': Rationalizing Genocide in the Nineteenth Century," delves into nineteenth-century evolutionism and its assertion that weak races would inevitably face "auto-genocide." Brantlinger focuses on the extinction of Tasmanian aborigines, ultimately suggesting that the rationalizations for race extinction persist, as evidenced by twentieth-century genocides, including ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia. This unsettling proposition implies that the justifications for race extinction continue to influence both colonized and colonizing imaginations.

 

In his chapter titled "Ethnographic Showcases, 1870­­1930," Raymond Corbey discusses the proliferation of ethnographic exhibitions and their role in shaping the identity of Self and Other, particularly in the context of the exploitation of indigenous people. These exhibitions, prevalent in world fairs, colonial exhibitions, and special ethnographic shows, were intricately linked to imperialism, nationalism, commerce, science, and missionary activities. The "colonial natives" became integral to empire and nation-building, sources of profit, and subjects through which the scientific community explored the evolutionary connections between "civilized" and "primitive" man.

 

Corbey highlights the instrumental role played by religious institutions, such as the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches, in portraying non-Western, non-Christian peoples as heathens in need of civilizing and religious efforts. The narratives constructed during this period established a stark opposition between the civilized and the uncivilized, perpetuating the narrative of the ascent to civilization. Importantly, Corbey notes the absence of exploration into the perspective of the Other, such as the Nubian, Pygmy, and Kalmuk, whose viewpoints were generally left unexamined.

 

The author contends that these narratives were constructed from a privileged vantage point, neglecting the perspective of the Other. Tribal cultures were commodified, labeled, scripted, and objectified, becoming characters in a narrative that framed them as backward ancestors awaiting true civilization and religion. Corbey argues that the perceived order in these exhibitions was a constructed reality through which cultural others were appropriated within the context of ethnological displays. In his conclusion, Corbey asserts that the binaries established in ethnocentric exhibitions extend across species boundaries in the form of anthropocentrism and speciesism. The exploitation and objectification observed in these ethnographic showcases, according to Corbey, echo through to contemporary issues related to human-animal relationships.

 

"Liberalism and Colonialism: A Critique of Locke and Mill" by Parekh, delves into the contradictory impulses of liberalism in the context of colonialism. Focusing on the writings of John Locke and John Stuart Mill, Parekh exposes the dual nature of liberalism, encompassing both egalitarianism and inegalitarianism, tolerance and intolerance, and peace and violence. Parekh critiques Locke's and Mill's justifications for colonialism, revealing the flaws in their assumptions and arguing that their theories contribute to the inegalitarian and imperial strands of twentieth-century liberal thought.

 

The subsequent chapters in Part One further explore the enduring impact of the colonizing imagination in the "New World" and beyond, examining colonial imaginaries in Japan and the Middle East. Marion O'Callaghan's "Continuities in Imagination," Hiroshi Yoshioka's "Samurai and Self­Colonization in Japan," and Toine van Teeffelen's "Metaphors and the Middle East: Crisis Discourse on Gaza" provide additional insights into the pervasive influence of colonial perspectives in various global contexts.

 

In Part Two, titled "Imaginaries of Cultural Pluralism," the collection comprises four essays addressing cultural inclusion and exclusion in colonial and postcolonial societies. In the chapter "Culture Wars in the United States: Closing Reflections on the Century of the Colour Line," Ronald Takaki engages in a discussion about American society, contrasting Francis Fukuyama's assertion of the "end of history" with John Lukacs's claim that tribalism has triumphed in the twentieth century. Takaki highlights the 1992 LA riots as a manifestation of intersecting color lines, emphasizing structural economic changes, housing segregation, and the decline of the manufacturing base as contributors to the growth of a black underclass. He criticizes both Fukuyama and Lukacs for overlooking these issues and underscores the importance of understanding the material basis of racial inequality.

 

Additional chapters by Ann Stoler and Jan Berting explore inclusionary and exclusionary attitudes in Southeast Asia and Europe, respectively. Stoler's "Mixed-Bloods' and the Cultural Politics of European Identity in Colonial Southeast Asia" and Berting's "Patterns of Exclusion: Imaginaries of Class, Nation, Ethnicity, and Gender in Europe" delve into the dynamics of identity and exclusion against the backdrop of colonialism. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak's contribution, "Teaching for the Times," addresses the challenges educators face in transnationally teaching literature.

 

Part Three, "Global Imaginaries," features two essays examining contemporary global dynamics. Susantha Goonatilake's "The Self Wandering between Cultural Localization and Globalization" provides insights into the interplay between globalization and localization in various cultural communities. She argues that individual minds navigate the drama between these forces, envisioning a cultural "Lebanonization" as a departure from the traditional notion of "Balkanization." Sol Yurick's "The Emerging Metastate Versus the Politics of Ethno-Nationalist Identity" discusses the tension between cultural fragmentation and the capitalist Metastate, portraying it as a world project aimed at absorbing cultures and establishing its own monoculture.

 

The volume underscores the multifaceted nature of themes related to the decolonization of imagination. While tailored for specialists well-versed in postcolonial theory, the book remains reasonably accessible to readers from diverse disciplines seeking a scholarly yet approachable overview. The editors successfully bring together papers that offer a penetrating analysis of postmodern thought, providing valuable insights into the complex interplay between colonizers and the colonized.