Postcolonialism is often deemed to deal with far away places, writers with names difficult to pronounce and novels infused with a hint of the colourful and the exotic. In recent years, however, ... read more
Postcolonialism is often deemed to deal with far away places, writers with names difficult to pronounce and novels infused with a hint of the colourful and the exotic. In recent years, however, Postcolonial Studies has begun to turn its gaze back onto Europe. Questions revolve around the hybridity of cities with their diasporic structures and around the disruption of the imagery which allowed Europe to present itself as unified and harmonious. Here, the focus is on the current surge of racism or on whether a number of European nations could be seen as prey to similar colonising power structures which have already been assiduously analysed for colonial situations in, for example, India or Africa. In this seminar we will be looking at British novels and films with regard to identity, to Englishness and Britishness, nationhood and hegemonic power structures.
Texts:
Nadeem Aslam, Maps for Lost Lovers
Iain Banks, Espedair Street
Hanif Kureishi, The Black Album
