Sunday, January 29, 2012

Post-Colonialism vs. Postmodernism

            Deniz Kandiyoti's Post-Colonialism Compared talks about colonial encounters and modernization in the Middle East vs. in Central Asia, particularly through the lens of the post-colonial. Kandiyoti cites Hall, who says that the post-colonial is ultimately about a "critical interruption" into Eurocentric colonialism/colonization (Kandiyoti, p. 279). As I was reading this article, I was struck by some things that I perceived as similarities between post-colonialism and postmodernism (particularly postmodernism according to Foucault, in Best and Kellner's chapter Foucault and the Critique of Modernity). I outline these similarities below:

1)  The conceptualization of power.  One particular flavor of post-colonialism is called dependency theory (Kandiyoti, p. 281). According to dependency theory, the reason why some nations remains "underdeveloped" after attaining independence was that those nations had been exploited by their colonizers. This view implies that concentrated power (in this case, power concentrated in European entities) is bad. This is very similar to Foucault's view. From his postmodern perspective, power is and should be dispersed, not concentrated in elite ruling classes; and power should be productive, not repressive (Best and Kellner, p. 51).

2)  The coherence of investigative framework.  Kandiyoti refers to another reading we did for our course: Colonising Egypt by Timothy Mitchell, which is a notable work on post-colonialism. In this work, Mitchell develops a process through which to study modern structures. This process involves "relativizing and 'provincializing'" 19th-century Europe and "analyzing it as a local curiosity" (Kandiyoti, p. 285). I'm not sure I fully understand what this means, but I think it involves breaking up Europe and views of Europe into smaller pieces in order to more fully understand the larger picture. This sounds to me an awful lot like Foucault's perspectivism. In perspectivism, there is no single correct interpretation of the world; a rich and deep interpretation can come about only through looking at multiple different interpretations.

3)  The importance of accommodating individuality.  Kandiyoti argues that there are some similarities between colonial encounters and modernization in the Middle East vs. in Central Asia. But she also says that Central Asia is not merely another critique of Western modernity. If you believe that is the case, you lose the specificities of Central Asia's experience, and you also limit explorations of post-colonialism (Kandiyoti, p. 294). Likewise, Best and Kellner argue that to "respect differences" is critical to Foucault's work (Best and Kellner, p. 44). This is related to both Foucault's perspectivism and his belief in "bio-power" (Best and Kellner, p. 51).

So I am wondering, what do you think the relationship is between post-colonialism and postmodernism? Is there overlap or similarity? If so, is this a coincidental overlap, or are post-colonialism and postmodernism necessarily intertwined?

Also, in my last post ("Islam and Perspectivism vs. Modernity"), I raised the question of if Islam can be postmodern. Now, the obvious question is, Can Islam be post-colonial? The answer to this question probably rests on the answers the questions asked in the previous paragraph. Again, I have no answers already in mind, so please let me know what you think!
-GGM

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