Date: Mon, 6 Apr 1998 16:38:38 -0400 (EDT)
From: Ivison Douglas <ivisond-AT-magellan.umontreal.ca>
Subject: Re: Is the US postcolonial?



In this week's Economist there is a story on a recent public opinion poll
on Briton's attitudes towards the Empire.  While most looked on Britain's
imperial history positively, most also knew pretty much nothing about.
Small if significant percentages did not even realize that places such as
Jamaica and Zimbabwe had once been British colonies!  Of particular
interest in regard to our recent discussion of the position of the USA
within postcolonial studies is the fact that a majority of Britons polled
did not know that what is now the USA had once been a British colony.

The article also mentions that the Labour minister in charge of
international development turned down a request for aid from Zimbabwe (to
help compensate white farmers for the appropriation and distribution of
'their' land) with the explanation that the new Labour government is
composed of a wide variety of individuals, most of whom had 'nothing to
do with colonial interests'.  In particular, she cited her Irishness (and
thus her status as colonized rather than colonizer).

Douglas Ivison
Departement d'etudes anglaises
Universite de Montreal





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