Postcolonialism: Race, Identity and Nation (1)

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Postcolonialism Race, Identity and Nation (1)
Different from the other posts.
A misnomer
A monster

• General introduction Colonialism, Orientalism
  and Racism

2. Race and (Post-)Colonial Identities Homi
Bhabha, the subaltern, diaspora, 3. Nation and
Narration
Gender and Race, Canon, Postcolonial
history, Postcoloniality, (literary) strategies
of resistance, center vs. margins,
globalization. . . etc. Re. chap 3 p.200.
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Q 1

• How is the racism against Afro-Americans or the
  other minorities (e.g. Chinese, Foreign Laborers
  here) related to colonialism?

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Racism and Colonialism

• Social Hierarchies of
• Class, Race, Gender, and Culture

Colonialism Economic, Military, Cultural.
Racism
Individual (inverse racism) Institutional, Linguistic/ cultural, Physical.
More systematic than personal
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Starting Questions 2

• What are the examples of colonialism? Is KMTs
  regime an example?
• What are the examples of colonial thinking (e.g.
  the racial/cultural prejudices and stereotypes)
  in English culture and literature?
• Is de-colonization possible?
• How do we or the colonized resist colonialism in
  life and through literature?

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Outline

• Colonialisms Definition
• Cultural Imperialism Orientalism Theories
  Examples
• Racism Cultural Containment and Appropriation
• Summary
• Reference

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Colonialism two kinds

• pre-capitalistcolonialism Before it, the
  Crusades in the 2nd century Genghis Khan's
  invasion of Middle East as well as China in the
  13th century.
• 2. European invasion of Africa, Asia and the
  Americas since the 16 century onwards. Causes
  modernization, nationalization, capitalism

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Colonialism two kinds (2)

• major differences "Modern colonialism did more
  than extract tribute, goods and wealth from the
  countries that it conquered -- it restructured
  the economies of the latter, drawing them into a
  complex relationship with their own, so that
  there was a flow of human and natural resources
  between colonised and colonial countries.

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Modern Colonialism Definition and Kinds

• Definition colonialism --military, economic,
  cultural oppression domination of one
  country/race over another.
• Kinds
• 1. Invasion-colonization
• 2. Settlement-colonization
• 3. Internal Colonialism
• 4. Neo-Colonialism
• ? frequently related to immigration? caused by
  the push of poor environment at home and the pull
  of capital.

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internal colonialism

• 1. Racial Domination within an existing territory
  
• 2. Uneven wave of industrialization ? Inter-group
  differences in power ? Ethnic division of labor ?
  Ethnic identities are forged and ethnic colonies
  formed (ghettos, or internal segregation).

Related to minority discourse or immigrant
culture/literature.
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Colonialism Flows of Natural Resources and People

• Triangular
• Trade
• 2. Middle Passage

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Colonialism flows of migration

• Flows of Migrants

1st World Colonial powers Adventurers, Army, travelers, missionaries, immigrants Third World Slaves, Contract laborers, Students, businessmen, etc.
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Cultural Imperialism (1) Theories

• 1. Culture (e.g. literature, language, popular
  culture) supports imperialism and is one way to
  spread it.
• 2. The definition of the self and others are
  based upon representations rather than reality
• 3. A series of binary oppositions (exact
  opposites) were employed to at once define the
  colonized subjects and the colonizing masters.

The West/Self as civilised, just, moral, industrious, rational, Masculine The Oriental/Other as savage, lewd, lazy, superstitious, feminine
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Cultural Imperialism (2) Theories

• Decoration and support for building the Empire
  (e.g. Mansfield Park)
• Biological Differences Justification of Racism

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Cultural imperialism (2) E. Saids Orientalism

• Textbook chap 3 p. 203
• Examining scholarly works, works of literature,
  political tracks, journalistic texts, travel
  books, religious and philosophical studies (Said
  23)
• As a discourseconstructing knowledge and within
  power networks
• Eurocentric (even in some more sympathetic
  writings)
• East vs. West
• e.g. Orientalism presenting the East as the
  Other (weaker, less civilized, inscrutable,
  wicked), or as the exotic e.g. Arabian Nights,
  Madame Butterfly and all the images of Oriental
  women as sumissive, sexual and sweet.

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Cultural Representation of the Other

• binaries ? exotic/sexy evil/wickes/animal
• Serving (as a symbol, a background) for their
  constructions of or search for the Self

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The Other as(e.g.1) a Dark Continent for ones
psyche

• 1. Africa as a stage for the whites moral,
  sexual, or existential struggle
• "The conquest of the earth, which mostly means
  the taking it away from those who have a
  different complexion or slightly flatter noses
  than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you
  look at it too much. What redeems it is the idea
  only. An idea at the back of it not a
  sentimental pretence but an idea an unselfish
  belief in the idea something you can set up, and
  bow down before, and offer sacrifice to (Joseph
  Conrad's Heart of Darkness)
• Others Out of Africa, Sheltering Sky, The
  English Patient (clip).

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The Other as (e.g.2) mapped Terra Incognita by
a discoverer figure

• 1. Heros (scientists) mastering a new land and
  its treasures
• E.g.
• Indiana Jones, Lawrence of Arabia,
• The Jungle Book,
• The King and I,
• King Solomons Mine.

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The Other as (e.g.3) Rape and Rescue Fantasy

• 3. Rape and Rescue Fantasy virginal white women,
  or black women sometimes, rescued from black men.
  
• E.g. The Birth of a Nation,
• The Last of the Mohicans,
• or as Harem

                                             
Jean-Aguste-Dominique Ingres' The Turkish Bath,
1862 Credit The Artchive
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The Other in (e.g. 4) the White Mans Gaze

"A  study of black and white" from a postcard,
1901
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The Other as (e.g. 5)Darkness symbolized

• White vs. Black Edouard Manet Olympia, 1863

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cultural imperialism (2) Literary Examples

• 2. The Caribbean --
• The Tempest Caliban
• Robinson Crusoe Friday
• Jane Eyre the madwoman Bertha
• Mansfield Park dependant on the business from
  the West Indian Estate (in Antigua clip)
• And many other Victorian novels.as decoration or
  evil margins.

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cultural imperialism (3) White Mans Burden

• 2. The Orient
• English Studies in India
• Taiwan Popularity of translations of American
  novels such as those of Hemingway and Jack
  London.
• Taiwan Un-self-reflective absorption of English
  literary canon/values

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cultural imperialism (4) Consuming Ethnic Colors

Furniture from Artikeln
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Cultural Imperialism Effects

• self-hatred inferiority complex or
• Split Subject (e.g. Black Skin, White Mask) (e.g.
  Delacroix)
• Assimilated
• Resistance

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Are they racist? (1) Internet Jokes on Cultural
Differences

• Aussies Dislike being mistaken for Pommies
  (Brits) when abroad.
• Canadians Are rather indignant about being
  mistaken for Americans when abroad.
• Americans Encourage being mistaken for
  Canadians when abroad.
• Brits Can't possibly be mistaken for anyone else
  when abroad.

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Internet Jokes on Cultural Differences

• Aussies Are extremely patriotic to their beer.
• Americans Are flag-waving, anthem-singing, and
  obsessively patriotic to the point of blindness.
• Canadians Can't agree on the words to their
  anthem, when they can be bothered to sing them.
• Brits Do not sing at all but prefer a
• large brass band to perform the anthem.

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Internet Jokes on Cultural Differences

• Americans Spell words differently, but still
  call it "English".
• Brits Pronounce their words differently, but
  still call it "English".
• Canadians Spell like the Brits, pronounce like
  Americans.
• Aussies Add "G'day", "mate" and a heavy accent
  to everything they say.

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Languages

• British Accent sounds aristocratic and thus
  elegant
• American Accent sounds democratic and
  open-minded
• Black Accent sounds streetwise and ??.

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Dealing with Cultural Conflicts

• When you have problems working with a person of
  another race (e.g. Japanese or Indian), you then
  assume that all the Indians/Japanese are like
  this.

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How racism is explained away

• the culture of poverty thesis
• The culture of poverty thesis holds that
  aboriginals are poor because their culture does
  not value hard work, economic success, and
  private property.
• However, this argument has been criticized
  because it confuses effect with cause.
• (or model minority) using, for instance, Asians
  as model monorities against Blacks or the
  Aborigines.
• ? cultural containment

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Cultural Containment

• Roots criticizes the individuals but not the
  system.
• Cosby Show an image of success.

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Cultural Appropriation

• A subtler and more complicated form of racial
  inequality
• e.g. The use of black cultures
• Madonnas use of vogue dance
• (as opposed to Janet Jacksons If)
• Jazz, Blues, Rap . . . etc.

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Cultural Appropriation (2)

• Dances with Wolves (Shohat 194)

1. pro-indigenous 1. Bad Pawnees/good Sioux (to be a dead species)
2. Respecting their language cultures (e.g. costume) 2. Euro-American man marrying a non-Indian woman.
3. Changes the direction of the industry 3. Ignoring the present lives of the aborigines.
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Cultural Appropriation (2)

• Cry Freedom not really a story of Steve Biko,
  an apartheid fighter.
• Mississippi Burning FBI investigators as the
  heros,

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You have learned . . .

• Definitions of Colonialisms
• Cultural Colonialism (Orientalism Cultural
  Imperialism) Theories Examples
• Racism Theories and Examples

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Next Week you will learn . . .

• Definitions of Race and Ethnicity
• Different kinds of (post-)colonial Identities.

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Race Definition

• Are racial attributes (e.g. what being a
  Chinese means) naturally born, or socially
  acquired?
• The classification of humans into races is now
  widely regarded as arbitrary from a biological
  viewpoint because actual genetic differences
  between racial groups are trivial.
• However, racial groups are real in a sociological
  sense insofar as people with different skin
  colour, etc., are commonly treated differently.
  (www.soc-canada.com/ppp/ch09.ppt)

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new racism

• involves the belief that the races are inherently
  different from one another in a cultural and
  behavioural sense, and problems result when they
  try to live together.

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The Hong Kong Prayer

• Our speculations,As we forgive those Who
  speculate against us. Lead us not Into
  Communism But deliver us From gweilos.For
  this is The Sovereignty, The Power of Authority
• Forever and everChow Mein.

• Our Brother Who art in Beijing, Xiao Ping be
  thy name. United Kingdom gone, Thy will be
  done, in Hong Kong As it is in China. Give us
  this day, Our daily bet, And forgive us

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Reference

• Ella Shohat, Robert Stam. Unthinking
  Eurocentrism Multiculturalism and the Media by
  Routledge 1994.