What is Colonialism?

What is Colonialism? develops a clear and rigorous account of what colonialism is and how it works. It draws on and synthesizes recent work in cognitive science, affective science, and social psychology, along with Marxism and related forms of analysis.

What is Colonialism? develops a clear and rigorous account of what colonialism is and how it works. It draws on and synthesizes recent work in cognitive science, affective science, and social psychology, along with Marxism and related forms of analysis.

Hogan begins with some fundamental conceptual distinctions, such as the degree to which a group shares beliefs, dispositions, and skills versus the degree to which they share identification with a category. Building on these distinctions, he defines colonialism in terms of political, economic, and cultural autonomy, clarifying the nature of culture and autonomy particularly. He goes on to articulate an invaluable systematic account of the varieties of colonialism. The final chapters outline the motives of imperialists, differentiating these from their ideological rationalizations, and sketching the harms caused by colonialism. The book concludes by considering when, or if, one can achieve a genuinely postcolonial condition. Hogan illustrates these analyses by examining influential literary works-by European writers (such as Joseph Conrad) and by non-Europeans (such as Athol Fugard, Kamala Markandaya, and Wole Soyinka).

This accessible and informative volume is the ideal resource for students and scholars interested in colonialism and empire.

Autorentext

Patrick Colm Hogan is Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor in the Department of English and the Program in Cognitive Science at the University of Connecticut, USA. His publications include The Routledge Companion to Literature and Emotion (co-edited with Bradley J. Irish and Lalita Pandit Hogan, 2022), American Literature and American Identity: A Cognitive Cultural Study from the Revolution Through the Civil War (2020), and Literature and Emotion (2018), as well as a novel treating modern colonialism, A People Without Shame (2023).

Inhalt

Acknowledgments

Prologue: Colonialism at Home and in the World

Introduction: The Persistence of Colonialism

Chapter 1 What is Colonialism?

Chapter 2 What Kinds of Colonialism Are There?

Chapter 3 What Motivates Colonialism?

Chapter 4 What are the Results of Colonialism?

Afterword When Does Colonialism End?

References

Index