Postcolonial Literature

The extensive history of colonialism in Asia cannot be denied. Almost all

Asian countries have been colonized in some way or another. In response to this long
history of colonization and the aftermath of it, literature has begun to tackle these
prevailing issues in society. Literary criticism has also responded to this, with an
intellectual discourse called postcolonialism or postcolonial studies.
What is postcolonialism'? It is an era or theory that is developed after a certain
colony gains independence from its mother country. Postcolonialism looks at these
colonial countries and sees how being colonized has affected their political,
economical, and social climate. Aside from these, how does the postcolonial country
respond to the independence it is suddenly given, and how is it still bound to the
countries that have colonized it beforehand?
So many literary works have featured characters who struggle with their own
identity after being colonized. How does the character deal with the emotional,
economical and political effects that the colonizers have brought and left behind?
Postcolonialism analyzes these particular texts by reading the text in a specific
and critical way. Postcolonialism asks the reader to analyze and expound on the
effects of colonization and imperialism on the characters. Furthermore, it also seeks to
look at the way the powers of the colonizers are extended beyond their colonial era
and into the future of the colonized country.
A way to counteract how the colonized have held onto their colonizers is
through the term decolonization. Decolonization is the intellectual process of
returning to the former independence that colonies have enjoyed before the colonizers
came. Here, the pervading ideas, cultural practices, and beliefs that were integrated
and taught by the colonizers may be deconstructed from the minds of the natives. It is
an extensive and exhaustive process of change, of eliminating the tethers that bind the
colonies with their colonizers and regaining the power that was lost upon colonization.
ACTIVITY

Direction: Choose an essay that you want to analyze from the following list by
visiting (http:// flavorwire.com/370347/15-essays-by-female-writers-that-everyone-
should-read) Analyze your chosen essay using either of the two critical lenses:
postcolonialism or decolonization. Use the following questions to guide your analysis.
Your analysis should give the reasons on why the essay you've chosen mirrors the
ideas in that particular theoretical framework.
The questions that one may ask to assess a text using postcolonialism are the
following:
1.What is the legacy of the colonial powers on a given colony?
2.What social, cultural, and economical effects are still currently experienced by the
colony?
3.What are the struggles faced by the colonies after the colonial imperialism?

The questions that one may ask to asses a text using decolonization are the following:
1.How does the text show the native beliefs of a colonized culture?
2.What problems may be solved by returning to the original beliefs of a colony?
3.What may be the main struggle in deconstructing imperialistic notions within the
former colony?
Although postcolonialism and decolonization may be two different bananas of the
same bunch, both concepts deal with the conflicts of identity and belonging. When
colonial powers come to a particular colony, they destroy native beliefs and cultural
practices, only to replace these with their own. When left on their own to pursue
independence, the colonies usually face the challenge of forming a concrete
nationwide identity.

DEADLINE: JANUARY 22, 2020 (FRIDAY)

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