Encyclopedia of Postcolonial Studies

The collapse of empires has resulted in a remarkable flourishing of indigenous cultures in former colonies. The end of the colonial era has also witnessed a renaissance of creativity in the postcolonial world as modern writers embrace their heritage. The experience of postcoloniality has also drawn the attention of academics from various disciplines and has given rise to a growing body of scholarship. This reference work overviews the present state of postcolonial studies and offers a refreshingly polyphonic treatment of the effects of globalization on literary studies in the 21st century.The volume includes more than 150 alphabetically arranged entries on postcolonial studies around the world. Entries on individual authors provide brief biographical details but primarily examine the author's handling of postcolonial themes. So too, entries on theoreticians offer background information and summarize the person's contributions to critical thought. Entries on national literatures explore the history of postcoloniality and the ways in which writers have broadly engaged their legacy, while those on important topics discuss the theoretical origin and current ramifications of key concepts in postcolonial studies. Cross-references and cited works for further reading are included, while a comprehensive bibliography concludes the volume.

"A major turn-of-the-century resource. The Encyclopedia of Postcolonial Studies catalogs the changes and continuities that connect 19th-century colonial ambitions with 21st century critical aspirations. The international scholars who contribute to this critical itinerary themselves represent the emergent and vanguard ranks of academic and disciplinary transformations in the new age of globalization."-Professor Barbara Harlow University of Texas, Austin author of Resistance Literature, ?[t]his volume belongs on the bookshelf of every advanced student of postcolonial studies.?-Religious Studies Review, ?[A]n excellent reference work useful for the initiated and the novice....For Africanists it will open new territory while bringing African material into proper focus as well.?-Research in African Literatures, ?[G]iven the volume's title and its laudably wide methodological remit, the focus on postcolonial literary studies comes as a surprise, with the visual arts, film, and music being somewhat underrepresented, as are culture, politics and ocial history, anthropology, and economics. Even so, with almost one hundred collaborators from around the globe, Hawley indeed creates a unique "Forum for international voices" and represents well the considerably widened geographical and cultural scope of postcolonial studies.?-World Literature Today, ?A useful guide for scholars and students, lower-division through graduate, working within global contexts in a variety of fields, particularly literary, cultural, and area studies.?-Choice

JOHN C. HAWLEY is Associate Professor of English at Santa Clara University. He is the editor of nine other books, including Postcolonial and Queer Theories: Intersections and Essays (Greenwood, 2001), Cross-Addressing: Resistance Literature and Cultural Borders (1996), and Historicizing Christian Encounters with the Other (1996).