Postcolonialism and its discontents

Abstract

This paper pro\.ides a critical assessment of the field of postcolonialism or postcolonialist studies, which has grown rapidly since the publication of Said's Orzenlulrsm. It is argued that the area of investigation's distinctive features, and originalit?; lie in the concern with the mutual constitution of the identities of colonizer and colonized, and in its anal\-ses of chronic instabilities inhabiting and destabilizing the colonial project from \\ithin. Some exemplary studies are explored to establish why the field deserves praise and support. The paper then discusses a wide range of criticisms that haw been Ic\-ellcd at the field's distinctil~e take on colonial encounters. 3lany of these are found wanting, although the paper also strips postcolonialism of man!-pretensions that threaten to undermine its credibilit!. as a serious intellectual project. Along the na! the paper also discusses the vexed questions of postcolonialism's relation to postmodernism and the potential political in~plications of a specifically postcolonialist stance.

A Place and Space for a Critical Geography of Precarity?

“…A prominent focus should be on exploring blame for the production of precarity when sketching a critical geography of precarity. Such a focus can be seen as similar to explorations of enduring power imbalances in postcolonial contexts (Barnett 1997; Blunt and McEwan 2002; Rattansi 1997; Said 1993).…”

Re-conceptualising desert landscapes: unpacking historical narratives and contemporary realities for sustainable livelihood development in central Australia

“…It recognizes the need to listen to the diverse stories of place and culture that were silenced or homogenized in the writing of colonial histories (Rattansi 1997). The conceptualization of diverse local histories and contemporary realities of place and culture also holds true for constructions of nature.…”

Locating post‐colonial technoscience: through the lens of indigenous video

“…Given this anti-essentialist and category-shy vision, a post-colonial analytical lens focuses on the hybridity of the entangled socio-spatial relations that shape mutually formulated identities (e.g., colonizer and colonized). 20 As Stuart Hall points out, however, no matter how earnest the aim to dismantle colonialist paradigms may be, post-colonial theory's 'deconstructive logic' can be unsettling for those who do not share its proclivity for uncertainty and anti-essentialist reluctance to predict. 21 Critics of post-colonial theory lament a lack of universal categories such as class, bounded objects such as nations or clearly identifiable (dis)empowered subjects such as peasants around which to rally progressive politics.…”