As the first African American woman winner of the Nobel Prize for literature,Toni Morrison is the most outstanding African-American woman author of the 20th century and the brightest star in contemporary African-Ameri...As the first African American woman winner of the Nobel Prize for literature,Toni Morrison is the most outstanding African-American woman author of the 20th century and the brightest star in contemporary African-American literary arena.Toni Morrison is a voluminous writer and she has published nine novels up to the present.Since 1980,her works have been getting more and more widespread attention from literary critics of the world since 1980s.The topic of postcolonialism has been the one of the focuses of Morrison' s novels.This paper is a literature review of Toni Morrison and postcolonialism in her works including the following points:a brief introduction to Morrison and her works,the research on Morrison,the post colonial theory and postcolonialism in Morrison' s works.展开更多
This paper aims to interpret Faulkner' s Forest Triology in the perspective of postcolonial eeoeritieisra and focuses on the relationship among the white settlers with nature,animals and the Indians,so as to deepl...This paper aims to interpret Faulkner' s Forest Triology in the perspective of postcolonial eeoeritieisra and focuses on the relationship among the white settlers with nature,animals and the Indians,so as to deeply analyze the destruction of the ecology and of the American Indians life by the white settlers.The posteolonial ecoeritieal reading of the short stories help readers understand the dilemma that humans face in the process of modernization and industrialization.展开更多
Published in 1977, in the peak of Chicanismo--the social, cultural, and political movements that brought raza consciousness and profoundly influenced the creation of a modern Chicano/Chicana identity--Nash Candelaria...Published in 1977, in the peak of Chicanismo--the social, cultural, and political movements that brought raza consciousness and profoundly influenced the creation of a modern Chicano/Chicana identity--Nash Candelaria's novel, Memories of the Alhambra, reflects a complex vision of the concept of home. For the two generations of Chicanos (U.S. citizens) depicted in the novel, the United States represents the site of postcolonial tensions and (b)order-ed negotiations of a postmodern Chicano/Chicana identity through ethnic reinvention. This paper aims at analyzing the postcolonial significance of the home, as a geographical, ontological, and national space, and Candelaria's association of the concept with a postmodern and mestizo identity.展开更多
This study examines strategies in responding to thanks by CanE (Canadian English) and CamE (Cameroon English) speakers. Based on data collected by means of a DCT (Discourse Completion Task) questionnaire, the st...This study examines strategies in responding to thanks by CanE (Canadian English) and CamE (Cameroon English) speakers. Based on data collected by means of a DCT (Discourse Completion Task) questionnaire, the study addresses formal, functional, situational, and interactional similarities and differences in both varieties of English. With regard to speaker strategies (Aijmer, 1996) or conventions of means, it was found that the Canadian participants mostly prefer "minimizing the favor" when responding to thanks, while the Cameroonians most frequently "express appreciation". At the level of the realization types, the findings show that patterns with "no problem" are predominant in the Canadian corpus, whereas the Cameroonian respondents rather employ patterns with "welcome". Differences can also be found in the situational distribution of the speaker strategies and their linguistic realizations as well as in the use and the length of supportive moves.展开更多
Postcolonial theory is a well-established critical approach that addresses issues such as the quest for identity, the significance of land, homelessness, resistance, and the encounter between the colonized and the col...Postcolonial theory is a well-established critical approach that addresses issues such as the quest for identity, the significance of land, homelessness, resistance, and the encounter between the colonized and the colonizers. This paper examines the postcolonial elements utilized by the Anglo-Jordanian novelist Fadia Faqir in her novel Pillars of Salt. It discusses the novel's themes and techniques associated with postcolonialism as a literary theory and as a critical approach. Being a postcolonial text, the novel shows the writer's attempt at writing back in response to the colonial past with its power structures and social hierarchies. Thematically, the novel is analyzed with special reference to such topics as the subaltern, Anglo-Jordanian ties, language, othemess, and identity. The paper also traces the continuity of postcolonial discourse in Faqir's novel and gives a short survey of the historical events that provide the background to the main events in this essentially postcolonial work.展开更多
The famous Indian-American female writer Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies describes the diaspora’s emotional experiences in the heterogeneous space.For three diaspora women in the novel,different characterist...The famous Indian-American female writer Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies describes the diaspora’s emotional experiences in the heterogeneous space.For three diaspora women in the novel,different characteristics are manifested for their formation of the identities due to their different life experiences:Boori Ma is a“voiceless”other;Mrs.Sen is a brave identity reconstructor;and Twinkle becomes a representative of“hybrid”identity.Compared with the former,the latter’s identity establishment presents a more positive state,conveying Jhumpa Lahiri’s longing for diaspora women to build a positive cultural female identity,and her expectation of constructing a spiritual home of multi-cultural integration.展开更多
In the decade after 1969,Heaney reached the climax of his poetry composition,in which he published four volumes of poetry,Door into the Dark,Wintering Out,North and Field Work to explore the nature and origin of the h...In the decade after 1969,Heaney reached the climax of his poetry composition,in which he published four volumes of poetry,Door into the Dark,Wintering Out,North and Field Work to explore the nature and origin of the hatred and violence in Northern Ireland.The thesis focuses on five representative bog poems written in the period to explain according to Homi K.Bhabha’s postcolonial theory how the bog bodies configurate the hybrid space and how it reflects the Third Space of Northern Ireland.Furthermore,the thesis argues that from the construction of the Third Space,Heaney achieves temporary harmony between his artistic and realistic responsibility.展开更多
Miguel Street is a collection of linked short stories by the Nobel Laureate V.S.Naipaul.To interpret the initiation theme inMiguel Street,this paper uses Rui Yuping’s theory structure to analyze the three major parts...Miguel Street is a collection of linked short stories by the Nobel Laureate V.S.Naipaul.To interpret the initiation theme inMiguel Street,this paper uses Rui Yuping’s theory structure to analyze the three major parts of the growing progress of the narra tor“I”.This paper also uses postcolonial criticism to interpret the confusing situation which“I”was in and the narrative strategy in this novel.The conclusion is that the only solution for“I”and even the whole country is to escape from the confusing situation.展开更多
Joseph Rudyard Kipling is the first English writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.The White Seal is ashort story of The Jungle Books,which is a popular book among children in the world.Recently,more an...Joseph Rudyard Kipling is the first English writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.The White Seal is ashort story of The Jungle Books,which is a popular book among children in the world.Recently,more and more researchers werestudying this famous writer according to his special life experience,and then,they found that in Kipling’s works,the idea of colo-nialism is obvious.This paper aims to analyze The White Seal from the Postcolonial perspective by the way of close reading.That is,to say that the white seal in the short story is a kind of symbol of west colonists,and the other seals in the short story are the sym-bols of the colonized,the process of the white seal searching the safe place for other seals is a symbol of the west colonists"moraliz-ing"and"helping"those colonized.By so,we can see that in this short story,Kipling is standing on the side of the westerns tospeak in defense of what westerns have done to the country of the third world.展开更多
Jean Rhys' s works have been paid much attention to the women from the margin of the society and tried to explore wom-en's real identity. Wide Sargasso Sea is a typical example: it makes Antoinette's voice...Jean Rhys' s works have been paid much attention to the women from the margin of the society and tried to explore wom-en's real identity. Wide Sargasso Sea is a typical example: it makes Antoinette's voice heard and rectifies her image. And Antoi-nette's tragedy caused by her multi-identities rises the thought-provoking theme about women in the Third World. Based on thetheory of postcolonial feminism, Antoinette's identity crisis under the power of patriarchy and colonialism will be discussed. Antoi-nette's failure of identifying herself demonstrates the plight of the Third World Women.展开更多
As one of the most important and greatest novels of Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, has attracted extensive attention from literature fields in the world and has always been under critics since its publication. This...As one of the most important and greatest novels of Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, has attracted extensive attention from literature fields in the world and has always been under critics since its publication. This paper,from the perspective of Edward Said's postcolonial theory—Orientalism,aims to analyze this classical work from the following three aspects: distorted description of the nature settings in Africa, distorted description of the image of the Africans as well as the white's blame on Africa for their degeneration.展开更多
This paper critiques postcolonial theory's deconstruction of national identity and its resuling dehistoricizing tendency.While acknowledging the field's significance,we argue that its over.reliance on poststru...This paper critiques postcolonial theory's deconstruction of national identity and its resuling dehistoricizing tendency.While acknowledging the field's significance,we argue that its over.reliance on poststructuralist methodologies blurs its distinction from postmodernism and leads to the erasure of national identity's historicity and materiality,as well as the historical value of ant-colonial struggles.To counter this,we advocate for employing Marxist historicization to reassess national identity's vital socio-cultural role within specific Third World contexts.Analysis of cases like African nationalism reveals its indispensable function in achieving liberation,forging collective identity,and challenging imperialism.For postcolonial theory to regain critical eficacy and political ethical relevance in contemporary Third World struggles against neocolonialism,it must transcend its excessive dependency on poststructuralism.Integrating historicization as a core principle and strategically affirming national identity'contextual,practical value--understood as necessary strategic essentialism-is paramount.This approach revitalizes the theory's dialectical relationship with history and liberation praxis.展开更多
This article uses postcolonial theory to examine optimal risk communication practices of new risks and scientifi c information to non-indigenous communities.The article calls on risk communication scholars and health ...This article uses postcolonial theory to examine optimal risk communication practices of new risks and scientifi c information to non-indigenous communities.The article calls on risk communication scholars and health practitioners to embrace postcolonial theory as it provides a critical and refl ective framework to examine ontological beliefs and methodological and structural aspects in the communication of public health messages.The article draws on insight from three studies on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy within Scotland's African,Caribbean,and Black communities between March 2021 and April 2022.The article off ers new insight into why some communities hesitate to respond to public health messages such as vaccine uptake advice.Therefore,risk communication scholars should use the postcolonial lens to examine their assumptions,thinking,and perspectives on communicating new science and risk information in emergencies.Postcolonial theory enables risk communication scholars to address power imbalances,representation,and inclusion challenges in public health communication and trust-building eff orts.展开更多
This study explores the epistemic imperative to decolonize African education systems by centering indigenous philosophies such as Ubuntu and introducing the Ubuntu Pedagogy as a pedagogical model.Ubuntu pedagogy trans...This study explores the epistemic imperative to decolonize African education systems by centering indigenous philosophies such as Ubuntu and introducing the Ubuntu Pedagogy as a pedagogical model.Ubuntu pedagogy transforms teacher-learner relationships,it provides a replicable model for relational learning,community partnerships,and reassert the dignity of indigenous epistemologies.The paper examines how language,knowledge production,and pedagogy can be restructured to reflect African epistemologies and educational sovereignty.This research also explores the relationship between mother tongue instruction and cognitive access to learning.Through a qualitative literature analysis of case studies and African scholarly discourse,this paper highlights the continued marginalization of indigenous knowledge systems and the need to embed culturally relevant teaching methodologies.The findings support the broader question of whether there exists an epistemological base for knowledge independence or production within African and Afro-Diasporic contexts,revealing culturally coherent frameworks of learning that resist colonial dominance and an exploration of reclaiming African indigenous knowledge systems for educational and cultural sovereignty.展开更多
This preliminary consideration of genre and memory explores the appearance of colonial Taiwan in the work of Japanese and Taiwan filmmakers. Visuality and identification in cinema, the pragmatic and affective dimensio...This preliminary consideration of genre and memory explores the appearance of colonial Taiwan in the work of Japanese and Taiwan filmmakers. Visuality and identification in cinema, the pragmatic and affective dimensions of memory, and the colonial and postcolonial viewing subject are discussed. Also noted in this essay are the apparatuses of recording and reproducing music and the human voice, ideologies, and time in Taiwan during the twentieth century. The examination of postcolonial and colonial documentaries and postcolonial fiction films suggests that colonial filmmakers often demonstrate a utopian outlook, while postcolonial cinema tends to adopt a dystopian, retrospective gaze These examinations, in turn, comprise a reflection, on multiple levels, of diegetic register and on the uniquely Taiwan Residents visual and aural aspects of these multi-lingual films. In summary, this article is an attempt to highlight the powerful and sometimes subversive uses of film in the propagation and circulation of a postcolonial Taiwan Residents identity which transcends national boundaries, and the polarizing, moribund research that they engender, so that scholars might better understand the postcolonial condition.展开更多
The production of Anglophone texts by postcolonial writers has often raised the issue of translation.This article argues that the transformation of English in the postcolonial text may be seen as a form of‘inner tran...The production of Anglophone texts by postcolonial writers has often raised the issue of translation.This article argues that the transformation of English in the postcolonial text may be seen as a form of‘inner translation’in which the text is both source and target.More importantly the postcolonial author produces a culturally signifi cant text by various strategies of appropriation and transformation that act as metonymic of the source culture.Such strategies produce what may be called the‘metonymic gap’,that cultural distance established within the text by the second language author.The article suggests that Gumbrecht’s term stimmung conveys that sense of the untranslatability of cultural difference that becomes installed in the text by the metonymic gap.It is through these strategies that the postcolonial author can convey a sense of cultural difference to a world anglophone audience,combining communicability with cultural distance.展开更多
This essay takes up the modernist tradition of representing fractured feminine selves in the work of contemporary Asian-American author Meena Alexander(1951-2018),examining her representation of the postcolonial artis...This essay takes up the modernist tradition of representing fractured feminine selves in the work of contemporary Asian-American author Meena Alexander(1951-2018),examining her representation of the postcolonial artist through a critical exploration o f autospecular affect.Drawing on m odernist im pulses—the breakdown o f human communication,the inefficacy of language,as well as experiences of alienation—Alexander depicts the creative act for the postcolonial artist as suffused with an autospecular desire to connect fragmented,displaced psyches through a reassessment of subjectivities.She delineates possibilities of moving past Eurocentric modernism through her articulation of the struggles of the postcolonial artist dealing with global modernity.Drawing from theories of specularity within affective paradigms,I trace the phenomenological process of self-other engagement in Alexander’s references to the autospecular subject looking in the mirror to understand herself and others around her.I also highlight how modernist writers such as Joyce,Eliot,and Woolf offer Alexander a metaphorical mirror wherein she sees the anxieties of the postcolonial artist and reflects them through renderings of their creative challenges.The essay concludes with a theoretical interpretation of Alexander’s autoscopic experiences in terms of Jacques Lacan’s“mirror stage theory”to understand subject formation in her work.展开更多
文摘As the first African American woman winner of the Nobel Prize for literature,Toni Morrison is the most outstanding African-American woman author of the 20th century and the brightest star in contemporary African-American literary arena.Toni Morrison is a voluminous writer and she has published nine novels up to the present.Since 1980,her works have been getting more and more widespread attention from literary critics of the world since 1980s.The topic of postcolonialism has been the one of the focuses of Morrison' s novels.This paper is a literature review of Toni Morrison and postcolonialism in her works including the following points:a brief introduction to Morrison and her works,the research on Morrison,the post colonial theory and postcolonialism in Morrison' s works.
文摘This paper aims to interpret Faulkner' s Forest Triology in the perspective of postcolonial eeoeritieisra and focuses on the relationship among the white settlers with nature,animals and the Indians,so as to deeply analyze the destruction of the ecology and of the American Indians life by the white settlers.The posteolonial ecoeritieal reading of the short stories help readers understand the dilemma that humans face in the process of modernization and industrialization.
文摘Published in 1977, in the peak of Chicanismo--the social, cultural, and political movements that brought raza consciousness and profoundly influenced the creation of a modern Chicano/Chicana identity--Nash Candelaria's novel, Memories of the Alhambra, reflects a complex vision of the concept of home. For the two generations of Chicanos (U.S. citizens) depicted in the novel, the United States represents the site of postcolonial tensions and (b)order-ed negotiations of a postmodern Chicano/Chicana identity through ethnic reinvention. This paper aims at analyzing the postcolonial significance of the home, as a geographical, ontological, and national space, and Candelaria's association of the concept with a postmodern and mestizo identity.
文摘This study examines strategies in responding to thanks by CanE (Canadian English) and CamE (Cameroon English) speakers. Based on data collected by means of a DCT (Discourse Completion Task) questionnaire, the study addresses formal, functional, situational, and interactional similarities and differences in both varieties of English. With regard to speaker strategies (Aijmer, 1996) or conventions of means, it was found that the Canadian participants mostly prefer "minimizing the favor" when responding to thanks, while the Cameroonians most frequently "express appreciation". At the level of the realization types, the findings show that patterns with "no problem" are predominant in the Canadian corpus, whereas the Cameroonian respondents rather employ patterns with "welcome". Differences can also be found in the situational distribution of the speaker strategies and their linguistic realizations as well as in the use and the length of supportive moves.
文摘Postcolonial theory is a well-established critical approach that addresses issues such as the quest for identity, the significance of land, homelessness, resistance, and the encounter between the colonized and the colonizers. This paper examines the postcolonial elements utilized by the Anglo-Jordanian novelist Fadia Faqir in her novel Pillars of Salt. It discusses the novel's themes and techniques associated with postcolonialism as a literary theory and as a critical approach. Being a postcolonial text, the novel shows the writer's attempt at writing back in response to the colonial past with its power structures and social hierarchies. Thematically, the novel is analyzed with special reference to such topics as the subaltern, Anglo-Jordanian ties, language, othemess, and identity. The paper also traces the continuity of postcolonial discourse in Faqir's novel and gives a short survey of the historical events that provide the background to the main events in this essentially postcolonial work.
文摘The famous Indian-American female writer Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies describes the diaspora’s emotional experiences in the heterogeneous space.For three diaspora women in the novel,different characteristics are manifested for their formation of the identities due to their different life experiences:Boori Ma is a“voiceless”other;Mrs.Sen is a brave identity reconstructor;and Twinkle becomes a representative of“hybrid”identity.Compared with the former,the latter’s identity establishment presents a more positive state,conveying Jhumpa Lahiri’s longing for diaspora women to build a positive cultural female identity,and her expectation of constructing a spiritual home of multi-cultural integration.
文摘In the decade after 1969,Heaney reached the climax of his poetry composition,in which he published four volumes of poetry,Door into the Dark,Wintering Out,North and Field Work to explore the nature and origin of the hatred and violence in Northern Ireland.The thesis focuses on five representative bog poems written in the period to explain according to Homi K.Bhabha’s postcolonial theory how the bog bodies configurate the hybrid space and how it reflects the Third Space of Northern Ireland.Furthermore,the thesis argues that from the construction of the Third Space,Heaney achieves temporary harmony between his artistic and realistic responsibility.
文摘Miguel Street is a collection of linked short stories by the Nobel Laureate V.S.Naipaul.To interpret the initiation theme inMiguel Street,this paper uses Rui Yuping’s theory structure to analyze the three major parts of the growing progress of the narra tor“I”.This paper also uses postcolonial criticism to interpret the confusing situation which“I”was in and the narrative strategy in this novel.The conclusion is that the only solution for“I”and even the whole country is to escape from the confusing situation.
文摘Joseph Rudyard Kipling is the first English writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.The White Seal is ashort story of The Jungle Books,which is a popular book among children in the world.Recently,more and more researchers werestudying this famous writer according to his special life experience,and then,they found that in Kipling’s works,the idea of colo-nialism is obvious.This paper aims to analyze The White Seal from the Postcolonial perspective by the way of close reading.That is,to say that the white seal in the short story is a kind of symbol of west colonists,and the other seals in the short story are the sym-bols of the colonized,the process of the white seal searching the safe place for other seals is a symbol of the west colonists"moraliz-ing"and"helping"those colonized.By so,we can see that in this short story,Kipling is standing on the side of the westerns tospeak in defense of what westerns have done to the country of the third world.
文摘Jean Rhys' s works have been paid much attention to the women from the margin of the society and tried to explore wom-en's real identity. Wide Sargasso Sea is a typical example: it makes Antoinette's voice heard and rectifies her image. And Antoi-nette's tragedy caused by her multi-identities rises the thought-provoking theme about women in the Third World. Based on thetheory of postcolonial feminism, Antoinette's identity crisis under the power of patriarchy and colonialism will be discussed. Antoi-nette's failure of identifying herself demonstrates the plight of the Third World Women.
文摘As one of the most important and greatest novels of Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, has attracted extensive attention from literature fields in the world and has always been under critics since its publication. This paper,from the perspective of Edward Said's postcolonial theory—Orientalism,aims to analyze this classical work from the following three aspects: distorted description of the nature settings in Africa, distorted description of the image of the Africans as well as the white's blame on Africa for their degeneration.
基金the research results of the project entitled“A Study of Contemporary African Fiction and Aesthetic Modernity”(Grant No.23XWW004)supported by the China Social Science Fund.
文摘This paper critiques postcolonial theory's deconstruction of national identity and its resuling dehistoricizing tendency.While acknowledging the field's significance,we argue that its over.reliance on poststructuralist methodologies blurs its distinction from postmodernism and leads to the erasure of national identity's historicity and materiality,as well as the historical value of ant-colonial struggles.To counter this,we advocate for employing Marxist historicization to reassess national identity's vital socio-cultural role within specific Third World contexts.Analysis of cases like African nationalism reveals its indispensable function in achieving liberation,forging collective identity,and challenging imperialism.For postcolonial theory to regain critical eficacy and political ethical relevance in contemporary Third World struggles against neocolonialism,it must transcend its excessive dependency on poststructuralism.Integrating historicization as a core principle and strategically affirming national identity'contextual,practical value--understood as necessary strategic essentialism-is paramount.This approach revitalizes the theory's dialectical relationship with history and liberation praxis.
文摘This article uses postcolonial theory to examine optimal risk communication practices of new risks and scientifi c information to non-indigenous communities.The article calls on risk communication scholars and health practitioners to embrace postcolonial theory as it provides a critical and refl ective framework to examine ontological beliefs and methodological and structural aspects in the communication of public health messages.The article draws on insight from three studies on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy within Scotland's African,Caribbean,and Black communities between March 2021 and April 2022.The article off ers new insight into why some communities hesitate to respond to public health messages such as vaccine uptake advice.Therefore,risk communication scholars should use the postcolonial lens to examine their assumptions,thinking,and perspectives on communicating new science and risk information in emergencies.Postcolonial theory enables risk communication scholars to address power imbalances,representation,and inclusion challenges in public health communication and trust-building eff orts.
文摘This study explores the epistemic imperative to decolonize African education systems by centering indigenous philosophies such as Ubuntu and introducing the Ubuntu Pedagogy as a pedagogical model.Ubuntu pedagogy transforms teacher-learner relationships,it provides a replicable model for relational learning,community partnerships,and reassert the dignity of indigenous epistemologies.The paper examines how language,knowledge production,and pedagogy can be restructured to reflect African epistemologies and educational sovereignty.This research also explores the relationship between mother tongue instruction and cognitive access to learning.Through a qualitative literature analysis of case studies and African scholarly discourse,this paper highlights the continued marginalization of indigenous knowledge systems and the need to embed culturally relevant teaching methodologies.The findings support the broader question of whether there exists an epistemological base for knowledge independence or production within African and Afro-Diasporic contexts,revealing culturally coherent frameworks of learning that resist colonial dominance and an exploration of reclaiming African indigenous knowledge systems for educational and cultural sovereignty.
文摘This preliminary consideration of genre and memory explores the appearance of colonial Taiwan in the work of Japanese and Taiwan filmmakers. Visuality and identification in cinema, the pragmatic and affective dimensions of memory, and the colonial and postcolonial viewing subject are discussed. Also noted in this essay are the apparatuses of recording and reproducing music and the human voice, ideologies, and time in Taiwan during the twentieth century. The examination of postcolonial and colonial documentaries and postcolonial fiction films suggests that colonial filmmakers often demonstrate a utopian outlook, while postcolonial cinema tends to adopt a dystopian, retrospective gaze These examinations, in turn, comprise a reflection, on multiple levels, of diegetic register and on the uniquely Taiwan Residents visual and aural aspects of these multi-lingual films. In summary, this article is an attempt to highlight the powerful and sometimes subversive uses of film in the propagation and circulation of a postcolonial Taiwan Residents identity which transcends national boundaries, and the polarizing, moribund research that they engender, so that scholars might better understand the postcolonial condition.
文摘The production of Anglophone texts by postcolonial writers has often raised the issue of translation.This article argues that the transformation of English in the postcolonial text may be seen as a form of‘inner translation’in which the text is both source and target.More importantly the postcolonial author produces a culturally signifi cant text by various strategies of appropriation and transformation that act as metonymic of the source culture.Such strategies produce what may be called the‘metonymic gap’,that cultural distance established within the text by the second language author.The article suggests that Gumbrecht’s term stimmung conveys that sense of the untranslatability of cultural difference that becomes installed in the text by the metonymic gap.It is through these strategies that the postcolonial author can convey a sense of cultural difference to a world anglophone audience,combining communicability with cultural distance.
文摘This essay takes up the modernist tradition of representing fractured feminine selves in the work of contemporary Asian-American author Meena Alexander(1951-2018),examining her representation of the postcolonial artist through a critical exploration o f autospecular affect.Drawing on m odernist im pulses—the breakdown o f human communication,the inefficacy of language,as well as experiences of alienation—Alexander depicts the creative act for the postcolonial artist as suffused with an autospecular desire to connect fragmented,displaced psyches through a reassessment of subjectivities.She delineates possibilities of moving past Eurocentric modernism through her articulation of the struggles of the postcolonial artist dealing with global modernity.Drawing from theories of specularity within affective paradigms,I trace the phenomenological process of self-other engagement in Alexander’s references to the autospecular subject looking in the mirror to understand herself and others around her.I also highlight how modernist writers such as Joyce,Eliot,and Woolf offer Alexander a metaphorical mirror wherein she sees the anxieties of the postcolonial artist and reflects them through renderings of their creative challenges.The essay concludes with a theoretical interpretation of Alexander’s autoscopic experiences in terms of Jacques Lacan’s“mirror stage theory”to understand subject formation in her work.