Agency and Voice: The History and Impact of Postcolonial Studies and a Look into its Future

Roundtable with Prof. Asha Varadharajan, Department of English, Queen’s University, Kingston ON, Canada

It’s not only the impact of the long shadows of historical colonialism which led to the development of postcolonial studies since the 1960ies.  Postcolonial studies considers not only the situation of former colonized societies but also the ongoing structures of exploitation and discrimination and disrespect which are still visible and significant in the former colonizers’ worlds as well. In combining critical analysis of histories and cultures with the claim for justice and recognition, especially in view of the “non-speaking” populations in Western media and politics, postcolonialism has thus generated a wide and complex access to social analysis.  Moreover,  a rich and rewarding field of literary and other cultural production has developed, offering innovation and reflection by exploring the impact of modernity and its related movements, philosophies, and aesthetics such as Surrealism, Marxism and Feminism on contemporary critical and artistic work.

In the present semester Prof. Varadharajan is teaching as one of MLU’s guest prof. in Comparative Literature; the roundtable is arranged and offered in cooperation with the Muhlenberg Center for American Studies and the research cluster “Society and Culture in Motion.” Everyone interested in the topic is welcome to attend.

The event will take place at the Germanistisches Institut (Room 23).