South Asian Literature : The Post Colonial Turn

(Greetings)
(Read the title and the essential question)
Angelo :
What is Post Colonial Literature?
- Is a literary period typified by experimentation with a new language, particularly
the forms and imagery that are offered by English and American literature.
(then read the text sa ppt)

Postcolonial Literature and Migrant Literature show some considerable overlap.

However, not all migration takes place in a colonial setting, and not all postcolonial
literature deals with migration.
A question of current debate is the extent to which postcolonial theory also speaks to
migration literature in non-colonial settings.
Ella :
What is Migrant Literature?
- (read muna ppt bago ang nasa script)

- Migrant Literature encompasses works by immigrants, as well as works by

Germans of non-German heritage.

(Read ang characteristics ng Post Colonial Lit)

Appropriation :
- (read ppt)
- During colonization, colonizers usually imposed or encouraged the dominance of
their native language onto the peoples they colonized, even forbidding natives to
speak their mother tongues.
Metanarrative :
- a metanarrative is a story about a story, encompassing and explaining other 'little
stories' within totalizing a schema.
- like it was said here (read ppt)
 Europeans were the designated masters, the rulers of the earth. Therefore, they
were justified in ruling over others: but anyway, they weren't really in it for their
own profit. They were enlightening the darker peoples, you see. They were
civilizing them.
• Europeans wanted everyone—including their colonized subjects—to accept it as
true.
Colonialism :
- (read ppt)
- So, given what a huge deal colonialism was, is it any wonder that writers from
formerly colonized countries became obsessed with understanding it, representing
it, and challenging it? And given that the consequences of colonialism extended
well beyond the actual period of decolonization (a lot of people say that these
consequences continue even to this day), is it any wonder that writers are still
dealing with the legacy of colonialism?
Colonial Discourse :
- (read ppt)
- Colonial discourse, as you might guess, is the collection of narratives, statements,
and opinions that deals with colonized peoples—told from the perspective of
European colonizers, of course. This discourse isn't very kind to colonized
peoples. It usually portrays them as savages, as uncivilized, as lazy, and as
servants. Colonizers themselves are usually presented as civilized and benevolent
and generous. (Could have fooled us.)
Rewriting History :
- (read ppt)
- Postcolonial writers don't like this version of history. It's a version that casts
colonizers as heroes, as rescuers who "saved" everyone from ignorance and
darkness. So postcolonial writers set about writing history from their own
perspective, showing how colonialism was actually a pretty violent, terrible thing.
More importantly, these writers also show how history is a matter of perspective,
and there are always many perspectives: there is no one "true" history.
Decolonization Struggles :
- (read the first bullet on ppt)
- Without them, decolonization wouldn't have happened. But decolonization isn't
just a political thing: it's also a cultural and mental thing.
- (read the last bullet on ppt)
Nationhood and Nationalism :
- (read ppt)
- Nationhood refers to the status of belonging to a nation(-state) or to a national
identity. Nationalism in turn can be define as a set of beliefs and symbols
expressing an identification with a given national community and efforts aimed at
the establishment or maintenance of a sovereign nation-state.
Valorization of National Identity :
- (read ppt)

Reading Strategies :
Ella :
1. Mimetic Theory :
- (read ppt)
- Mimetic theory is a concept developed and advocated for by René Girard, 20th-
century French anthropologist. Mimetic theory's key insight is that human desire is
not an autonomous process, but a collective one. Girard believed that historically
human societies managed mimetic conflict through the scapegoat mechanism.

2. Pragmatic Theory :
- (read ppt)
- It is primarily concerned with audience reception and how the people are affected
by the work.
Angelo :

3. Expressive Theory :
- (read ppt)
- Expressive theory defines poetry as an expression, or overflow, or utterance, or
feeling or as the products of poet’s feeling. The poetry should be as the state of
mind, not in the object itself.

4. Objective Theory :
- (read ppt)
- Always maintains its focus on the text, with other factors like social context being
considered secondary.
Ella :
Author of the Representative Text
• National Artist for Literature (2006)
• Bienvenido Lumbera, is a poet, librettist, and scholar.
• As a poet, he introduced to Tagalog literature what is now known as Bagay poetry,
a landmark aesthetic tendency that has helped to change the vernacular poetic
tradition.
Angelo :
• He is the author of the following works: Likhang Dila, Likhang Diwa (poems in
Filipino and English), 1993; Balaybay, Mga Tulang Lunot at Manibalang, 2002;
Sa Sariling Bayan, Apat na Dulang May Musika, 2004; “Agunyas sa Hacienda
Luisita,” Pakikiramay, 2004.
• As a librettist for the Tales of the Manuvu and Rama Hari, he pioneered the
creative fusion of fine arts and popular imagination.
• As a scholar, his major books include the following: Tagalog Poetry, 1570-1898:
Tradition and Influences in its Development; Philippine Literature: A History and
Anthology, Revaluation: Essays on Philippine Literature, Writing the Nation/Pag-
akda ng Bansa.
(watch ang video presented sa ppt)
- THE END -