Concepts in the Modern Post-Colonial Studies

Hybridity is one of the most popular concepts in the modern post-colonial studies. In its broadest meaning, it is any mixture of western and eastern cultures. In terms of colonial studies, this concept refers mostly to Asian and African colonial subjects, as they have gained the balance between cultural attributes of both sides involved. The Location of Culture by Homi Bhabha is considered the key text of the theory of hybridity as he discusses the idea of liminality (border state) as a paradigm of colonial anxiety in this work (Bhabha). Hybridity is seen as the key concept of post-colonialism as it represents the mixture of the colonized and colonizing, therefore any identity, connected with colonialism is hybrid. It means that colonizers and suppressors are no longer seen as powerful masters, but just as a part of the whole colonial system. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is the example of cultural hybridity as it presents the story of an Indian boy, grown up in the reservation, who has to settle down in the society of white people. Alexie proves that hybridity does not mean anything wrong, but offers the opportunity to experience two cultures without any limits (Ford).

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Patriarchy is another important concept of post-colonial studies, as it plays an important role in postcolonial feministic theories. According to Oxford Dictionaries, patriarchy is a system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it. (Oxford Dictionaries) For a long time the problem of patriarchy has been considered the major one in the postcolonial feministic studies as it was important for women to become separated from men and their oppression. Under Western Eyes Revisited by Chandra Mohanty serves as a perfect example of patriarchy and postcolonial feminism as it explains the notion of postcolonial feminism and its major differences from the Western feminism, which sees the women of the Third World as speechless victims of patriarchal organization of the society, while Western women are depicted as fighters against men-oriented concepts.

According to Oxford Dictionaries, assimilation is the absorption and integration of people, ideas, or culture into a wider society or culture (Oxford Dictionaries). In terms of postcolonial studies this concept is extremely important as it shows that the colonized cultures are supposed to assimilate or dissolve in the colonizing culture the process, highly opposed to by the colonized. The novel Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga represents the idea of assimilation in educational institutions, for they are very important in the colonizing policy.

Works Cited

Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. London: Routledge, 1994. Print.

Ford, Douglas. "Sherman Alexie's Indigenous Blues." Melus 27.3 (2002): 197. Web.

"Oxford Dictionaries - Dictionary, Thesaurus, & Grammar." Oxford Dictionaries - Dictionary, Thesaurus, & Grammar. Web. 03 Apr. 2016.