A05: postcolonialism

• The Postcolonial Agenda:

  1. Explores the effect of colonialism and the empire on native people and the nation
  2. raises issues such as racism and exploitation
  3. Assesses the position of the colonial or post-colonial 'subject'
  4. Offers a counter-narrative to the long tradition of European Imperial narratives
• Reasons for colonialism:

  1. Social Darwinism
  2. Eurocentrism
  3. Universalism (saving of all humans)
  4. White man's burden: thought to be an obligation to 'civilise' non-European people (e.g. through language)
• Forms of colonial oppression:

  1. Political --> Caliban's 'loss' of his crown
  2. Economic --> Caliban used as a slave to do free labour
  3. Social / Cultural --> Caliban is looked down upon, lost his language and heritage
  4. Psychological --> Entrapment and manipulation, torture. He feels completely powerless and inferior, reduced to an animal.