Problematic Consequences of the Theoretical Evolution of Postcolonial Studies
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2014 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | STUDIA ANGLICA RESOVIENSIA: INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH STUDIES JOURNAL |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | http://www.ur.edu.pl/wydzialy/filologiczny/instytut-filologii-angielskiej/studia-anglica-resoviensia/current-issue |
| Field | Mass media, audiovision |
| Keywords | postcolonial theory;evolution;problematic terminology |
| Description | This paper does not attempt to present solutions to the currently debated problem of the continuing relevance of the Postcolonial Studies, but tries to open the Foucauldian ‘field of problematization’ within the theory which is rather a set of various approaches than a consistent theory. It points out aspects of the theory as well as its methodology that lead to the questioning of its relevance in the twenty first century. There is a great need to rethink basic concepts like ‘post-colonialism’, ‘postcolonial’ author, ‘counter-discourse’, and ‘First’ and ‘Third’ world that are no longer sustainable. The critical feature of postcolonial literary theory is its association with a particular historical period and specific political transformation of the world. Despite its direct connection to history, politics and economy, the preoccupation of postcolonial literary studies with epistemological and cultural questions still prevails. With recent inclination to Rhetoric and Cultural Studies, ‘postcolonial’ literary criticism should open more to interdisciplinary approaches rethinking the ‘postcolonial’ space of questioning, drawing on the reciprocity of the power-struggle experience and its discursive re(-)presentation. Despite the academic inconveniences of such an approach, cooperation across fields of research seems inevitable if ‘postcolonial’ studies want to accomplish its aim on which its existence is based – to allow the emergence of a truly autonomous subject. |