Canadian Postcolonial Studies

Abstract

Specifically Canadian approaches to postcolonial studies acknowledge and trace the legacies of colonialism within Canada in relation to Indigenous peoples, Quebec, and English Canada within a framework of officially recognized multiculturalism in a bilingual context. Particular to the Canadian context of postcolonial studies is the foundational recognition of Canada's history as a colony that was responsible for the subjugation and colonization of Indigenous peoples. This highlights the complicated nature of postcolonialism in Canada – as a colony that colonized intranationally. In addition, postcolonialists consider the history of the independence movement in Quebec and the ongoing critical engagement with cultural and linguistic diversity and official multiculturalism. Contemporary postcolonialism in Canada emerged out of the study of world literatures written in English, with an emphasis on issues of marginalization, hybridity, local language development, educational reform, and “writing back.” It persists in conjunction with studies of critical race, diaspora, globalization, environmentalism, and Indigenous rights.