Postcolonialism

My first assignment for this course was to find more information on a topic I found perplexing. Of the different paradigms listed in the textbook (Becoming Qualitative Researchers: An Introduction by Corrine Glesne - here's a link to Amazon  http://www.amazon.ca/Becoming-Qualitative-Researchers-Corrine-Glesne/dp/0137047975/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326306345&sr=8-1), I've always found the "posts" to be the most confusing. I feel like I understand the basics of this school of thought (no universal truths, deconstruction, etc.), but I've never had a firm grasp on the subject, particularly postcolonialism. I shall endeavor to provide more information here, in the hope I will learn more about it (and maybe you will too).

Whenever I'm introduced to a new topic I have little or no prior knowledge of, I always start with Wikipedia. Many are against Wikipedia, citing it is unreliable, not reviewed for accuracy or validity, and comprised of information offered by...anyone. While this may be true, Wikipedia is a great starting place. I would never use it as a reference for anything academic, but it will give you the basics so you can find other, more reliable sources.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postcolonialism

Purdue University's website offers a quick overview of postcolonialism, and offers some resources for further reading. A great starting place.  http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/722/10/

This website is from a multidisciplinary conference held in Toronto in 2002. It provides a great overview of postcolonialism, and also lists abstracts from the conference that are available for viewing.
http://www.semioticon.com/virtuals/postcol.htm

This is a paper written by Quentin Kayne of Athabasca University. Kayne applies postcolonialism to an aboriginal Canadian context, which is useful in understanding how the theory can be applied.
 http://www2.athabascau.ca/courses/engl/423/archive/kayne_postcolonialism.pdf

This is another paper written by Mabiala Justin-Robert Kenzo, Ph.D., from an African perspective. A short read (only 7 pages!), Kenzo offers a concise account of what postcolonialism is, and why it matters.  http://www.amahoro-africa.org/files/what-is-postcolonialism.pdf

An article written by Neil Lazarus entitled What Postcolonial theory doesn't say. Lazarus offers an interesting perspective on the postcolonial studies, citing that

"[t]here has been a notable failure in the field to situate the historical projects of colonialism and imperialism in the determinant contexts of the inception, consolidation and development of the modern world system, whose developmental logic is that of combined and uneven development. Even on the best postcolonialist accounts, imperialism is typically situated in civilisational terms and refers to ‘the West’ rather than to capitalism. The social and temporal power identified through this means is a euphemism. The idea of ‘the West’, as it is deployed in postcolonial studies, inevitably issues in a dematerialised — and, for that matter, unhistorical — understanding of the forces powering the world system over the course of the past 500 years" (taken from article abstract).
http://www.msvu.ca:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=6189

This site provides a comprehensive overview of postcolonialism's themes and issues, major theorists, and terms, as well as a number of other subjects. Another great starting place to be introduced to the concept of postcolonialism.  http://www.postcolonialweb.org/poldiscourse/discourseov.html

This website provides a great overview of the topic of postcolonialism. Clearly and concisely written, the author(s) survey many aspects of the topic, including major works, authors, themes, style, criticisms, etc. They only provide you with snippets of each, but you can read the full version if you choose to subscribe.  http://www.enotes.com/postcolonialism/

Novanet also offers some texts on the subject, some of which are electronic resources. Two such titles are Questioning Hybridity, Postcolonialism, and Globalization by Amar Acheraiou, and Actionable Postcolonial Theory in Education by Vanessa Andreotti.

To learn more about important scholars within the field, Wikipedia provides the basics for you:
Edward Said: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Said
Gayatri Spivak: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gayatri_Chakravorty_Spivak
Homi K. Bhabha: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homi_K._Bhabha


Hopefully this will give you a sense of what postcolonialism is, how it functions, and its applications.