postcolonial
Following colonial rule
Postcolonial describes the period, condition, or perspective following the end of colonial rule.
A postcolonial nation gained independence from a colonizing power.
In academic use, postcolonial theory examines the cultural, political, and economic legacies of colonialism—how former colonies grapple with imposed languages, borders, and institutions: postcolonial literature, postcolonial studies.
The term acknowledges that colonialism's effects persist long after formal independence.
Interest in Eastern aesthetics
- hegemonyDominant group's control
- EurocentrismBias toward Western perspectives
- otheringViewing as fundamentally different
- imperialismExtending dominion over others
discourse · representation · Said · epistemic violence · decentering · mimicry · ambivalence · hybridity
Freedom from external control
- liberationRelease from constraint
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
- emancipationRelease from legal bondage
autonomy · self-rule · nationhood · unshackling · reclamation · withdrawal · dismantlement · devolution
Pidgin maturing into mother tongue
- syncretismFusion of different beliefs
- cultural fusionBlending of different traditions
- intermixtureCombination of different elements
- code-switchingAlternating between linguistic varieties
double consciousness · in-betweenness · liminality · cosmopolitanism · border crossing · polyglot · pidgin · amalgamation
Scattered population sharing origins
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- belongingState of fitting in
- alienationState of being isolated
- homelandOne's native land
exile · displacement · rootlessness · ancestral · selfhood · reclamation · authenticity · dual identity
Pushed to society's edges
- voicelessHaving no voice
- oppressedTreated with cruel control
- dispossessedDeprived of home or land
- subjugatedBrought under control
silenced · colonized · indigenous · native · peasantry · underrepresented · exploited · disenfranchised
Labored effort against resistance
- uprisingOrganized resistance to power
- defianceOpen resistance to authority
- rebellionDefiance of established power
- insurgencyArmed uprising against authority
guerrilla · civil disobedience · protest · boycott · dissent · liberation movement · independence movement · revolutionary
orientalism
Interest in Eastern aesthetics
- hegemonyDominant group's control
- EurocentrismBias toward Western perspectives
- otheringViewing as fundamentally different
imperialism · discourse · representation · Said · epistemic violence · decentering · mimicry · ambivalence · hybridity · contrapuntal
independence
Freedom from external control
- liberationRelease from constraint
- sovereigntySupreme independent authority
- self-determinationControl over one's fate
emancipation · autonomy · self-rule · nationhood · unshackling · reclamation · withdrawal · dismantlement · devolution · restoration
creolization
Pidgin maturing into mother tongue
- syncretismFusion of different beliefs
- cultural fusionBlending of different traditions
- intermixtureCombination of different elements
code-switching · double consciousness · in-betweenness · liminality · cosmopolitanism · border crossing · polyglot · pidgin · amalgamation
diaspora
Scattered population sharing origins
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- belongingState of fitting in
- alienationState of being isolated
homeland · exile · displacement · rootlessness · ancestral · selfhood · reclamation · authenticity · dual identity · hyphenated identity
marginalized
Pushed to society's edges
- voicelessHaving no voice
- oppressedTreated with cruel control
- dispossessedDeprived of home or land
subjugated · silenced · colonized · indigenous · native · peasantry · underrepresented · exploited · disenfranchised · dominated
struggle
Labored effort against resistance
- uprisingOrganized resistance to power
- defianceOpen resistance to authority
- rebellionDefiance of established power
insurgency · guerrilla · civil disobedience · protest · boycott · dissent · liberation movement · independence movement · revolutionary · antiimperialist
- African studiesAfrican history, African culture, African languages, African literature, African art
- colonialismcolonizer, colonies, British Empire, colonizers, protectorate
- Colonial LiteratureHeart of Darkness, Kim, The Jungle Book, King Solomon's Mines, Robinson Crusoe
- ethnic literatureethnic heritage, ethnic identity, immigrant stories, slave narratives, ethnic traditions
- Raj LiteratureAnglo-Indian, Kim, Rudyard Kipling, Kipling, E.M. Forster
- French LiteratureVictor Hugo, Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Dumas, Jules Verne
postcolonialcolonial
Of occupied territories
precolonial · imperial · colonial-era · colonialist · imperialist
postcolonialcolonial
Of occupied territories
colonized · subjugated · occupied · dependent · protectorate
postcolonialcolonialist
Advocate for territorial expansion
imperialist · metropolitan · Eurocentric · settler · orientalist
- postcolonial eraPeriod following imperial withdrawal