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Postcolonial theory through the works of

Edward W. Said and Homi K. Bhabha

Maria Eleni Kokkini

Department of Linguistics and Intercultural Studies,
University of Thessaly
English for Academical purposes
Instructor: Dr Gkainartzi A.
January 15, 2022
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What is Postcolonialism and postcolonial theory?

Postcolonialism is an academic study that concerns the legacy of colonialism. More
specifically, it examines the culture of former colonies as well as their relationship
with the rest of the world from a critical point of view. Furthermore, this critical
theory studies the cultural, economic, and political impact of colonialism through the
analysis of the history, culture, literature, and discourse of the imperialist power.
Postcolonialism theorists emphasize on two main subjects; how colonial culture has
distorted the experiences of the colonized people and how it has constructed their
supposed “inferiority”. Postcolonial theory contains various approaches aiming at a
better understanding of the phenomenon of colonialism from the perspective of the
colonized. This specific theory also studies new forms of colonization and the current
discourse on settlers and colonized people. As well as the creative ways of resistance
against the colonizer’s culture. Finally, it aims to weaken the way colonists observe
the rest of the world and to create an intellectual space in which the colonized nations
can express themselves with their own voices. The result of this objective would be
the creation of a philosophical discourse which will restore the balance in the
relationship of the two nations.
Colonial speech
Initially, colonialism was introduced as an “expansion of civilization” justifying the
racial and cultural “supremacy” of the western world. Many of the 19th century
theorists elaborated on the previous statement trying to explain the settlers exploitive
actions. Some examples of colonial speech are “Nature has made a race of workers,
the Chinese race, who have wonderful manual dexterity and almost no sense of
honor... A race of tillers of the soil, the Negro; treat him with kindness and humanity,
and all will be as it should; a race of masters and soldiers, the European race. Reduce
this noble race to working in the ergastulum1 like Negroes and Chinese, and they
rebel... But the life at which our workers rebel would make a Chinese or a fellah
happy, as they are not military creatures in the least. Let each one do what he is made
for, and all will be well” (Renan, 1871). Moving on, another great example of
propagandistic discourse is the work of John Stuart Mill. He talked about the natives
of Paraguay and Spanish colonists. Even though, he recognized the exploitive
character of the colonies, he firmly believed that a period of political control was
necessary to civilize the indigenous people and to enable them to govern themselves.
“The real difficulty was the improvidence of the people; their inability to think for the
future: and the necessity accordingly of the most unremitting and minute
superintendence on the part of their instructors.” (Mills, 1909)
Influence of Social Darwinism on colonial speech. Another important aspect of
colonial speech is Social Darwinism. Charles Darvin’s theory of evolution
influenced the thinking of many philosophers who attempted to apply it to
human society. Thus, it is considered that all human societies follow the same
path of progress. Therefore, pre-industrial societies, instead of being considered
different from other developed ones, they are referred to as “underdeveloped”.
These theories were combined with pseudoscientific ones concerning the less
developed human races. Darwin’s theory of the “survival of the fittest” was

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A dungeon on a large Roman farm in which slave laborers were confined
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another element adopted by social theorists who regarded antagonism as a

motive for social evolution, individual freedom, and wealth.
Postcolonial literature
An important and more creative side of postcolonialism is the literature of the
colonized people who are trying to re-establish their cultural identity. As a literary
theory, postcolonialism studies the literature of the colonized nations and the now
independent states. This theory focuses on the relationship of language and culture
with the people from former colonies. However, it also studies the literary production
of the colonizers which refer to colonialism and the representation of both nations. On
my point of view one of the best representatives of postcolonial literature and more
specifically, postcolonial poetry is Maya Angelou. She was an Aftican-American
activist who explored the themes of economic, racial, and sexual oppression in her
work. Apart from her autobiographies and essays she also engaged in writing poems.
Her poetry includes, “Still I Rise” (from the collection And Still I Rise, 1978). This
poem is a reminder of the abuses of power by those who sit in government, the
judiciary, the military, and the police force. Although written with black slavery and
civil rights issues in mind, “Still I Rise” is universal in its appeal. It is a beacon of
hope for every enslaved person whatever the circumstances are.

The work of Edward Said

E. Said was an American academic and literary critic. His Palestinian descent is what
made him study and work on subjects like imperialism, political science, and the
eastern world. He reformed the studies of comparative literature with his works of
Orientalism (1978) and introduced postcolonialism to the academical sphere. Through
his book, he demonstrates the construction of an Eastern world or Orient as he calls it,
based on the Western perspective. Mainly based on the power relation of the colonies.
He then proceeds to condemn the disdainful attitude of the West towards the.
Moreover, E. Said addresses the subtle yet persistent Eurocentric prejudice against the
Arab-Islamic world and the culture that has its roots in the misguided and imaginary
image of the Orient. Lastly, Said thoroughly uses structuralism and stresses the fact
that the “image of the Other2” stems from binary oppositions. Furthermore, he
presents schematic depictions of the Arab culture. He highlights that such cultural
depictions of the Islamic world serve the sole purpose of the European and American
imperialism and colonization. Said also accuses the orientalism scholars of cultural
discrimination and imperialism perspective. These scholars present the Eastern world
as absurd, weak and “effeminate” which contrasts the logical, powerful, and
masculine West.
How the West observes the East according to Said. Edward Said focuses on the
following doctrines that prevail in the way the West sees the East. The image of the
West of itself is constructed in contrast to the East. Actually, it is constructed based
on these beliefs about the mysterious East.
1. The systematic and absolute difference between West and East

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It refers to something foreign to the Western world. In this case the oriental world.
This word is used by many postcolonial theorists
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2. Use of texts that represent the classical East and not texts that represent the
modern reality
3. The East as an eternally unchanged, unified, unable to define itself
4. The East as something the that the West should either fear or control.
The concept of orientalism after Said’s work. Regarding orientalism as a notion, it is
explored thoroughly by E. Said through his book of the same name. His book resulted
in the word orientalism to acquire a negative meaning. From the original definition;
study of the East, it came to convey a system (texts, movies, pictures, etc.) that
reinforces a way of understanding the Oriental world via a Eurocentric lens. “The
Orient was almost a European invention, and had been since antiquity a place of
romance, exotic beings, haunting memories and landscapes, remarkable experiences.”
(Said, 1978). Thus, the East is seen as something exotic in inaccurate and non-history
related ways. In order to defeat these stereotypes, society must recognize them first.
E. Said’s point of view is found helpful in this situation.

The work of Homi K. Bhabha

Bhabha is an English theorist of Indian descent. He is the author of numerous works
exploring postcolonial theory, cultural change, and power among other themes. In his
book The Location of Culture (1994) is stated that the practices of appropriation and
adaptation favor the procedure of hybridity.
What is hybridity according to Homi K. Bhabha? Hybridity is a major feature of
postcolonial identity and concerns the interactive relationship, even if it is
incommensurate, between the colonists and the ones that are being exploited. Bhabha
analyses hybridity as the creation of a new identity by the interaction of the two
cultures. As a result of this interaction the new hybrid subject is considered as an
object from a colonial perspective. Along with the creation of the hybrid identity, a
“third space” is created where the cultural differences meet. “Third Space” is the
combination of the Subject or the colonist (a familiar space) and the Other or the
colonized (a “foreign” space). However, in the long run, the hybrid subjects
undermine the ideology of the colonialists and eventually become a threat. The
colonial masters are characterized by ambivalence and start to question their actions
so far. On the other hand, the colonized tend to imitate their colonists but
unfortunately this imitation is considered bad and subsequently inferior. Bhabha
concludes that colonialism ultimately fragments the dominant culture and opens a
field of action for the culture of the colonized. “I want to turn to this process by which
the look of surveillance returns as the displacing gaze of the disciplined, where the
observer becomes the observed and ‘partial’ representation rearticulates the whole
notion of identity and are alienates it from essence.” (Bhabha, 1994)
Mimicry. As mentioned above, the imitation is referred to as mimicry by Bhabha. It
appears when members of a colonized society imitate and take on the culture of the
colonizers. It gives the colonial subject a partial presence, as if they are dependent.
Sadly, mimicry is nothing more than a cheap camouflage “The effect of mimicry is
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camouflage...it is not a question of harmonizing with the background, but against a

mottled background.” (Bhabha, 1994)

References
Bhabha, H. K. (1994). The Location Of Culture . New York : Routhledge.
Mills, J. S. (1909). Principles of Political Economy with some of their Applications to
Social Philosophy. London : Longmans, Green and Co. r
Renan, J. E. (1871). La Réforme intellectuelle et morale de la France (La réforme
intellectuelle et morale).
Said, E. W. (1978). Orientalism. Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd.
Harvard University, Faculty of Art and Science, Department of Comparative
Literature. (n.d.) Homi K. Bhabha (he/him)
https://complit.fas.harvard.edu/people/homi-k-bhabha (website accessed on 15/1/22)
Student group of the Interdepartmental Postgraduate Program of Lexicography.
(2009, June 19). Hybridity. Fylopedia. (in Greek)
http://www.fylopedia.uoa.gr/index.php/%CE%A5%CE%B2%CF%81%CE%B9%CE
%B4%CE%B9%CE%BA%CF%8C%CF%84%CE%B7%CF%84%CE%B1