Postcolonial Theory

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Postcolonial Theory

• An Critical Introduction
• by
• Leela Gandhi

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Thinking Otherwise
Theoretical Landscape Theories of Influence
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Marxism, Post structuralism the Problem with
Humanism
Marxism is anti-imperialist Colonialism had to
occur for capitalism globalization Fails to
deal with colonialism
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Orientalism From Marxism to Postructuralist,
Postmodernist Thinking
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Western Critique of Western Civilization
Power Knowledge Shift from economic determinism
of Marxist thought
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Critical Reflection of Universalism/Eurocentrism
Derrida Foucault do not deal directly with
colonialism either but Economic Political
Hegemony Structure of Western rationality is
racist imperialist
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Exploring the philosophical tradition from inside
rather than from outside
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Humanism
Postmodern thinkers seek to dismantle the myths
associated with this philosophical tradition
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Unified beliefs of Humanism There is a universal
given human nature It can be found in the
common language of rationality Historical
Constructions
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Marxists Humanists vs. Poststructuralists
anti-humanists
Humanism holds out a possibility for consensus of
the humane Any norm of rational unanimity is
totalitarian and hostile to challenges of
otherness
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Postcolonialism Humanism
Forced to deal with the gap between the
impossibility of universal human nature the
impossibility of politics that lacks solidarity
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Overlapping Approaches
Humanism as a cultural educational program of
Renaissance Theory of subjectivity knowledge of
Enlightenment
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Literary and Scientific Humanism
Both anthropocentric but R Man is made human by
what he knows E Humanity is a function of the
way in which we know things
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Humanisms Disclaimer
All human beings are the measure of all things
but Some human beings are more human than others
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What is Enlightenment?
Kant It offers man an exit from immaturity into
the improved condition of maturity Holds out the
possibility for all humanity
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Foucault Doesnt reflect the diverse
heterogeneity of human nature but restricts the
universal structures to adult rationality European
adulthood childish colonized Other
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Rigid Oppositions African as Minor Sambo
Thesis Feeds into civilizing logic Colonialism
as developmental Colonizer as
educator Pedagogical Motivations
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Lyotard immaturity not so much the failure of
modernity as the possibility of a truly humane
philosophy Enlightenment without disclaimer
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Postcolonial studies helps to undue the colonial
civilizing mission from inside the Western
philosophical tradition
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Descartes Error