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POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE

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POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE

EMPIREEMPIRE - (Latin origin) associated with 'command' or'power'.

- A country presided over or the authorityexercised by a ruler who happened to be

called an emperor.

- The territorial possessions of a state outsideits strict national boundaries.

Informal Empire No single language, religion, no onecode of laws

Survival of the Empire Government adapted to localconditions

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POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE

British world power manifested through the empire

Free trade mid XIXth C superiority in industry

and commerce

It depended on other countries for prosperity, almostfor survival.

Creeping colonialism Britain intervenes in othercountries.No longer 'ruled' by Britainbut dependent on iteconomically

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POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE

The British Empire From the 16thCentury onwards.

The heyday was 1890 to 1920 'The sun never sets on theBritish Empire' Principal motivation: commercial, industrial and political. Nowadays Dependencies (Falkland Islands,

Gibraltar)The British monarch is head of state inmany ex- imperial countries (Australia,Canada, New Zealand, Caribbeannations) and is head of theCommonwealth.

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POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE

Colonialism brought Venture capital(commodities such astobbaco, sugar, mineralsand human beings)

The pioneering spiritGovernment expediency(shipping convicts to distantlands)The British sustained a highlevel of class and regionaldistinctions amongthemselves and racedistinctions with others

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POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE

1970's Edward Said's Orientalism construction of the

oriental 'other' by European discourses of knowledge

'Postcolonial Literature' Literature produced in countriesthat were once or are now,colonies of other countries.

Different concepts Concern with the national cultureafter the departure of the imperialpower.

Distinguish bet. the periods before andafter independence.Covers all the culture affected by theimperial process from the moment ofcolonization to the present day

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POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE

Post-colonial literatures African countries, Australia,Bangladesh, Canada,Caribbean countries, India,Malaysia, Malta, New

Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore,South Pacific Island countries,Sri Lanka, the literature ofMinorities of the USA

Emerged out of the experience of colonization andasserted themselves by foregrounding the tension withthe imperial power, and by emphasizing their differencesfrom the assumptions of the imperial centre.

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POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE

Imperial Oppression Control over the language

'standard' versions of themetropolitan lang. as the norm.

Marginalization of 'variants' asimpurities.

Language Hierarchical structure of power isperpetuatedConcepts of 'truth', 'order' and'reality' become established.

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POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE

English english- Standard code - English varieties(the English of the thoughout the world.erstwhile imperial centre)

- Centre - 'Peripheries'

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POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE

Main Issues: * National identity (develop it and reclaim it)* The oriental and the westener (images of the

colonized as inferior)* The legacy of colonialism

* Write their own stories, legasy, using thecolonizer's language for their own purposes.

Purpose Writing back to the EmpireWrite their way back into ahistory others have written.

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POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE

The Issue of IdentityThe Issue of Identity

Identity How we see ourselves and how

others see usNecessity of belonging, of fittingin.Differences of appearance,

language, cultural and religiouspractices (racial identity andsocial identity)

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POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE

IDENTITY

In terms of Family (changing structure vstraditional unit, psychological problems,desintegration of personal relationships,the children of missing people)Community (circumstances)

School Dominant culture is taughtCommunication breakdownbet. Home and schoolEuropean values

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POSTCOLONIAL LITERATURE

Nation Inmigrants Identity conflict (maintainethnic roots an belonging)Citizens of two worlds

(ambivalence and evasion)

Portrayal of Minoritiesin Literature Gender stereotyping and

subtle racism

Images devoid of humanity,passive roles andstereotypes

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South African Literature

AfricannessAfricanness A matter of both land and bloodThe land of black peopleBlackness in history and cultureCommunity and ancestry

WhiteWhite Boer or AfrikaansWhitenessWhiteness Power

Political, cultural and racial

oppression of Apartheid (fear ofblackness)White society, culture and literatureBlood whiteness made absolute,sacred, vulnerable.

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South African Literature

John M. CoetzeeJohn M. Coetzee

Its the white settler, the original worm thatcame to canker South Africa, and who have

committed the original and unforgivable sinthat has forced whites out of paradise.

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South African Literature

ApartheidApartheid 2 categories Black = African BoesmanKaffir

Old and native (barbarian,dying)

New and emergent (urban and cosmopolitan)-Bantustan

(authentic

and original)Soweto (African's Harlem) - Townships

- The Ghetto