Post-Colonial Criticism

Post-colonial criticism examines the cultural legacy of colonialism — how literature has represented, justified, challenged, and resisted imperial power. For A-Level, post-colonial theory is essential for analysing texts that deal with race, empire, cultural identity, and the politics of representation.

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What Is Post-Colonial Criticism?

Post-colonial criticism asks:

• How does literature represent colonised peoples and their cultures?
• How has literature been used to justify or resist colonialism?
• How do writers from formerly colonised nations reclaim narrative authority?
• What happens when the "colonised" write back to the "coloniser"?

The term "post-colonial" is itself contested. It can mean:

• After colonialism — the period following independence
• Against colonialism — literature that challenges colonial power and its legacies
• Beyond colonialism — literature that moves past the colonial framework entirely

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Key Thinkers

1. Edward Said: Orientalism (1978)

The Key Argument: Said argued that Western representations of "the East" (the Orient) are not neutral descriptions but constructions that serve Western power. "Orientalism" is the system of knowledge through which the West defines, categorises, and controls the East.