01 Introduction To write a “short guide” to the intersection of queer theory with postcolonial theory seems perhaps like a…
The Beyond is, first of all, for the coolie who settles, a confused poetics, pregnant with silence looks, unsaid words.…
In the nineteenth century, the Guajajara tribe of Brazil discovered the medicinal qualities of a native plant called Pilocarpus jaborandi.…
In “Surface Reading: An Introduction,” Sharon Marcus and Stephen Best question the relation between literary criticism and political activism. Best…
A key movement in postcolonial studies was the 1980 intervention of the subaltern studies group. Within “subaltern studies,” a term…
…you think the earth itself is dead … It’s so much simpler that way! Dead, you can walk on it,…
(Source: Wikimedia Commons) He got down to work, to the task of settling the fate Of millions. The maps at…
“To outsiders, perhaps, Zimbabwe is just a name signifying some random geographical boundaries… But for me it is different. Rhodesia…
The Yoruba The Yoruba are one of the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria, concentrated in the south of the…
Which Yeats? There are many versions of William Butler Yeats (b 1865 d 1939), Ireland’s most famous poet, dramatist, critic,…
Background The practice of hijab among Muslim women is one based on religious doctrine, although the Quran does not mandate…
Why Women Began To Travel Women began to travel in the nineteenth century for many personal and political reasons. Some…
Defining the Term In sweeping strokes, we can understand “globalism” as closely related to the term “postcolonialism” itself. The two…
What geographical regions constitute the Third World? Who are Third World women? Who defines and writes about the terms “Third…
Introduction Buying black pepper, cinnamon, cloves and other spices is so inexpensive now that it seems hard to believe that…
The profound hypocrisy and inherent barbarism of bourgeois civilization lies unveiled before our eyes, turning from its home, where it…
Defining Representation Representation is a critical concept not only in postcolonial studies and academia, but in the larger cultural milieu.…
This article discusses contemporary performance and installation artists who address the objectification of the non-white bodies in Western culture: Coco Fusco…
The novel has been the aesthetic object of choice for a majority of postcolonial scholars. While postcolonial writers have by…
“A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when…
Edward Said’s evaluation and critique of the set of beliefs known as Orientalism forms an important background for postcolonial studies.…
Introduction Monday, May 10, 1998 marked a day that will not soon be forgotten. It was the day India began…
Alfred Nobel Alfred Nobel was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1833. In 1842, the Nobel family moved to Russia, where…
The methods of partitioning land have undergone tremendous change since the thirteenth century. During medieval and renaissance times, royal dynasties…
The Colonizer In his essay “Literature and Society,” Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o explores the mechanisms of imperialism. To ensure economic and political control the…
The tradition of exhibiting people of color in Western societies has existed since the earliest encounters between Europeans and indigenous…
Daniel Defoe’s 1719 novel, Robinson Crusoe, is a rich text for understanding the mechanisms of European colonialism and the relation between…
Introduction Although implicit in many other types of fictional works, self-reflexivity often becomes the dominant subject of postmodern fiction. In…
Introduction Before we begin our adventure through Karl Marx and his complex idea of commodity, the purpose and intent of…
Introduction Maps as we know them today are the result of millennia of study and observation. Unlike modern maps, which…
Magical Realism A literary mode rather than a distinguishable genre, magical realism is characterized by two conflicting perspectives, one based…
Meena Alexander (Nampally Road, Fault Lines, River and Bridge, The Shock of Arrival, Manhattan Music) Anjana Appachana (Incantations and Other Stories, Listening Now) Shauna Singh Bauldwin…
A wealth of languages make their home on the Indian Subcontinent. Estimates for the number of languages spoken range from over…
“… make language stammer, or make it ‘wail,’ stretch tensors through all of language, even written language, and draw from…
A full understanding of and appreciation for Arundhati Roy’s novel The God of Small Things requires that the reader be…
Introduction Kathakali, literally translated as “story-play,” is a classical Indian dance rooted in Hindu mythology. This dance, which is briefly mentioned…
A unique and multicultural group of people, the Jews of India add exciting flavor to India’s already diverse population. Centered…
Ethnomusicology Bruno Nettl, a music and anthropology professor at the University of Illinois, lists some of the various definitions for…
Let the Americans keep their sodomy, bestiality, stupid and foolish ways to themselves, out of Zimbabwe. – Zimbabwean President Robert…
Hegemony “Hegemony” was most likely derived from the Greek egemonia, whose root is egemon, meaning “leader, ruler, often in the sense of…
Introduction and Definition of Terms The Oxford Dictionary of the English Language defines geography as “the description of the earth’s…
The “Public” and “Private” Realms of Political Personhood Colonial powers brought with them daunting philosophical, theological, naval and mercantile traditions…
The Salt Tax After proclaiming the Declaration of Independence of India on January 26, 1930, Mahatma Gandhi came to an…
“The identity of a Filipino today is of a person asking what is his identity.” – Nick Joaquin “This is then…
Introduction The Field Day Theatre Company began as an artistic collaboration between playwright Brian Friel and actor Stephen Rea. In 1980, the…
The knife cut down the guardian of the village today. Now he is dead and gone. Before the village was…
One of the central modes of representation is essentialism. Diana Fuss says that essentialism is most commonly understood as…
The Law All major religions have their own laws which govern divorces within their own community, and many have separate…
Introduction The game of cricket has had a long and complicated history in the West Indies. Originally imported to the…
Literature and the Communist Movement in India Having a general understanding of the communist movement in India is incredibly important…
The colonial presence is always ambivalent, split between its appearance as original and authoritative and its articulation as repetition and…
What is Colonial Education? The process of colonization involves one nation or territory taking control of another nation or territory…
Introduction Christians constitute the second largest religious minority in India next to Islam. The roughly 28 million Christians in India…
Chicana Defined “Chicana” refers to women of Mexican descent who are born and/or raised in the United States. Although the…
Background The caste system in India is an important part of ancient Hindu tradition and dates back to 1200 BCE.…
Introduction One of the most prestigious prizes in the literary field launched in 1969 as the Booker-McConnell Prize. Today, it…
Brief History of Indian Cinema India was first exposed to motion pictures when the Lumiere Brothers’ Chinematographe showed six soundless…
Arranged Marriages in India Arranged marriages have been part of the Indian culture since the fourth century. Many consider the practice…
A Brief Introduction to the Apartheid In 1910, after years of conflict and warfare, the Afrikaner community (the descendants of…
Historical Background South Africa is a land of abundant natural resources, mild climate, and fertile lands. Resources range from diamond…
“By G – I do love the Ingles. G-d dammee, if I don’t love them better than the French by…
“Colonial racism is no different from any other racism.” – Frantz Fanon A Need To Talk Back While African American…