Postcolonial Theory
Postcolonial criticism involves reading a text according to postcolonial ideas and concepts, which revolve around the ways in which the West has often defined the non-West, and the ways that the non-West has sought to define itself. When conducting postcolonial criticism, we're thinking about structures and beliefs colonialism and colonisation, as well as the ways in which power is distributed amongst the colonisers and (previous and currently) colonised., and the means by which these structures are maintained.
At the heart of this mode of interpretation is the consideration of the following core conflict:
These slides contain a broad overview of what postcolonial criticism does. They are good for students who want to remind themselves of some of this theory's key aspects. For a deeper understanding of what a postcolonial critic does, explore the resources below.
Key Figures
Edward Said
Homi Bhaba
Gayatri Spivak
Key Concepts
Click the image to the left to access the article that we read as a class that explains the core tenants of postcolonial criticism via an interview between a journalist and a professor of literary studies.
Click the image to see some examples of postcolonial literary criticism in action. Measure your own work against the models on this page to ensure that you are correctly applying this type of criticism.
Click the image to access further resources to help you understand postcolonial criticism. On this page, you can find examples of postcolonial criticism, explainer videos and further reading.
