"Engagements With Postcolonial Literature And Theory | Literature

Engagements with Postcolonial Literature and Theory offers a detailed exploration of the debates theories texts and themes that have shaped the evolution of postcolonial literary studies. Encompassing prose poetry and drama this book navigates the history of postcolonial literature and its criticism. Each chapter is framed by a postcolonial author’s own literary ‘engagement’. Case studies on Chinua Achebe Kamau Brathwaite Derek Walcott Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o Tsitsi Dangarembga Junot Diaz Jean Rhys Hari Kunzru Arundhati Roy and J. M. Coetzee elucidate each chapter’s central concepts and themes: colonial subjects and rebels; nations and nationalism after decolonisation; postcolonial difference; and subaltern representation. In this book Lorna Burns tracks the evolution of postcolonial theory from anti-colonialism (Albert Memmi and Frantz Fanon) to the poststructuralist first wave (Edward Said Gayatri Spivak and Homi Bhabha) the Marxist counter-response (Aijaz Ahmad and Benita Parry) and finally looks ahead to new directions in postcolonial theory. Aimed at students and scholars who are new to postcolonialism as well as those returning to it for fresh insights and inspiration this book engages with the complexity of both postcolonial theory and literature to furnish the reader with a fuller understanding of their significance and value as well as the connections to be forged between them.|Engagements with Postcolonial Literature and Theory | Literature