The Politics of Postcolonialism

Rumina Sethi

Description

In a period of vast global restructuring, unrestricted capital has eroded the traditional distinctions between nations and nationhood. In The Politics of Postcolonialism, Rumina Sethi devises a new form of postcolonial studies that makes sense of these dramatic changes.



Returning to the origins of the discipline, Sethi identifies it as a tool for political protest and activism among people of the third world. Using a sophisticated mix of spatial theory and local politics, she examines the uneven terrain of contemporary anti-capitalism and political upsurges in Africa, Asia and Latin America, emphasising postcolonial politics, dissent and resistance. Her analysis shows that as the traditional means of direct political control have largely lost their hold, postcolonial cultures, now dominated by neoliberalism, are seeking fresh ways to express their discontent.



This original and persuasive work frees the discipline from its current preoccupation with hybridity and multiculturalism, giving students of politics, cultural studies and international relations a new perspective on postcolonialism.
Acknowledgements

1. Postcolonialism and its Discontents: An introduction

2. The End of the Nation?

3. Globalization and Protest

4. The United States and Postcolonialism

5. Conclusion: New Directions

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Sujets

• Post-Colonialism
• Political Science
• Cultural studies
• Colonialism
• Anthropology

Informations

• Publié par: Pluto Press
• Date de parution: 08 avril 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783716081
• Langue: English

Extrait

The Politics of Postcolonialism
 
 
 
 
 
 
‘“If postcolonial studies is to be relevant today,” Rumina Sethi argues, “it must become the voice of the people and theorize about movements against globalization, not become part of its grand design.” Her critical analysis of the “politics of postcolonialism” and the lack of constructive dialogue with the Marxist perspective, interweaving with analysis of globalization and the state of “postcoloniality,” seeks to overcome the academic ossification of concepts that should be integrated with social change and activism.’ (Noam Chomsky, Emeritus Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
‘In The Politics of Postcolonialism , Postcolonialism and Marxism, too often set in opposition to each other as if they were antagonists or rivals, are joined together in order to forge an activist postcolonial politics. Rumina Sethi challenges postcolonial critics to put their feet back on the ground and to link the postcolonial once again to the political activism by which it has always been inspired. Too often, she suggests, postcolonial studies has advanced as an academic discipline while remaining deaf to the roaring turmoil of global resistance to domination and exploitation. That struggle must continue, and if postcolonial critics are to align themselves with it, Sethi forcefully argues, they must begin by returning to the place where the people dwell.’ (Robert J.C. Young, Julius Silver Professor of English and Comparative Literature, New York University)
‘This book develops an argument that is both even-handed and radical. Rumina Sethi explores the history and the difficulties of post-colonial theory and without jettisoning its value she urges quite fresh thinking about its political and social implications.’ (Dame Gillian Beer, Emeritus Professor of English Literature, University of Cambridge)
 
 
 
 
The Politics of Postcolonialism
Empire, Nation and Resistance
RUMINA SETHI
 
 
 
 
 
 
First published 2011 by Pluto Press
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Distributed in the United States of America exclusively by
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Copyright © Rumina Sethi 2011
The right of Rumina Sethi to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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In loving memory of my mother
 
 
 
 
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
1
Postcolonialism and its Discontents: An Introduction
2
The End of the Nation?
3
Globalization and Protest
4
The United States and Postcolonialism
5
Conclusion: New Directions
Notes
Bibliography
Index
 
 
 
 
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Most of this book was written during two years of study leave at Oxford and Cambridge as well as the Nehru Memorial Library, New Delhi.
I am grateful to the Panjab University, Chandigarh, for granting me leave without which it would have not been possible to carry out my research. I am also indebted to the Faculty of English, University of Oxford, for inviting me to spend two years in Oxford. I must thank the staff of the English Faculty, the Rothermere American Institute, the Taylorian Institute and the Bodleian library at Oxford, and that of the Nehru Memorial, New Delhi, for assistance in tracing relevant materials. Particular thanks are due to the International Gender Studies Centre, Queen Elizabeth House, University of Oxford; Pembroke College, University of Cambridge; Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla; the International ACLALS triennial Conference, Hyderabad; and the Rockefeller Centre at Bellagio, Italy, where I presented parts of my work during the course of my research.
My stay at Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio on the salubrious banks of Lake Como during the course of writing this book will always remain the most indelible experience of my research. While on a Rockefeller Fellowship award, I had the opportunity to interact with eminent scholars, poets and thinkers and arrive at new perspectives especially after long discussions over many weeks. I imagined Hannah Arendt, the German philosopher, who had been there decades ago, lazing in the sun and indulging in free conversations on politics, literature and philosophy. Liberalism in politics, the cultivation of the intellect, and keenly standing up for broad and unbridled truth – that was the deep experience I gained there.
Many thanks to Robert Young, Tim Cribb, Catherine Belsey and Kamal Verma who offered valuable suggestions from time to time and gave me their feedback and criticism. Though words are not enough, I am grateful to my dear friends, Rajinder Bhandari, Guinea Singh, Sarah Gracie and Shankar Narayan, for their constant encouragement and unfailing emotional support during a very trying period of my life. Prakash Upadhyaya, Roopinder Singh, Thomas Bisson, Pilar Palacia, Jyoti Sodhi, Meenu Rikhy, Charanjit Singh, Manju and Anil Loona were of immense help whenever I needed them.
I would also like to thank Wolfson College, Oxford, which has always been helpful in matters of accommodation. The days spent here in my old college interacting with scholars from various fields were of enormous value. I would especially like to express my gratitude to the team of publishers at Pluto Press, London, particularly David Castle, Will Viney, Alec Gregory, Judy Nash, Dave Stanford, Sue Stanford and Robert Webb, all of whom have been very patient and always forthcoming with any kind of assistance needed to facilitate my research on this project. Not once did David put excessive pressure on me as I occasionally crossed deadlines even as, in his own inimitable way, he was gently there to remind me of the passing time. Tom Lynton, the cover manager, went painstakingly over every detail of the jacket of this book, always willing to modify and alter. Tim Clark, to whom I am equally indebted, read the manuscript meticulously and uncomplainingly.
To Shelley, I owe a very special thanks for all the scholarly debate and criticism which certainly helped to make this book more incisive and rigorous. I owe him a special debt of gratitude for patiently waiting for me to finish writing as I spent long hours away from him. Finally, I would like to thank my parents: my father who assisted me every inch of the way, who brought me up to be disciplined, determined and rigorous in whatever I did; and my beautiful and ever-supportive mother who made me the person I am and taught me to be intellectually honest. I regret that she never got to see this book completed. I dedicate it to her loving memory.
 
 
 
 
1
POSTCOLONIALISM AND ITS DISCONTENTS: AN INTRODUCTION
The plenitude of signification is such that ‘postcolonial’ can indicate a historical transition, an achieved epoch, a cultural location, a theoretical stance – indeed, in the spirit of mastery favoured by Humpty Dumpty in his dealings with language, whatever an author chooses it to mean. (Parry 2004a: 66)
 
I
In an age replete with innumerable variants of ‘post-ist’ politics, postcolonialism means so many things to so many people that its full implications necessarily lie outside our grasp. Applied indiscriminately to subjects that would never normally have been perceived collectively, its original focus on colonial politics has now extended from issues of minority-ism under European rule to the hegemony of the US in turning the world global, and from the marginality of women and blacks to the exile of those of us settled outside our nations. Nevertheless, any attempt to withstand and oppose an expansive culture of imperialism will require a form of theoretical polemics that is equally wide-ranging.
For years now, postcolonial theorists have been occupied with finding alternatives to this ill-fitting nomenclature. The term ‘postcolonial’ has come under a great deal of scrutiny ever since it was used to refer to ‘all the culture affected by the imperial process from the moment of colonization to the present day’ (Ashcroft, Griffiths and Tiffin 1989: 2). Such an all-embracing definition not only posits colonialism as some sort of continuum with hazy beginnings and no end, not even after a nation’s gaining independence, it also places the literatures and politics of practically the whole world within its ambit. Gradually, studies in postcolonialism became preoccupied with all minority cultures – including feminist writing in the third world, black literatures, dalit writing in India, the literature of the diaspora and the dispossessed of the countries of Asia, Africa, Latin America, Australia, Canada, the Caribbean and New Zealand – while also developing an obsessive fixation with stylish, if obscure, theory. In the attempt to ‘world’ postcolonialism further, Homi Bhabha emphasized border crossing by including ‘transnational histories of migrants, the colonized, or political refugees’ (Bhabha 1994: 12), whereas Williams and Chrisman advocated the inclusion of ‘diasporic communities’, ethnic