File spoon-archives/postcolonial.archive/postcolonial_1998/postcolonial.9806, message 151


Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 23:12:10 +0500
From: Nadeem Omar Tarar <ntarar-AT-brain.net.pk>
Subject: Re: query: China, Korea and Japan - postcolonial?


The designation of a country as "post-colonial" is not a matter of
convenience. It is a theoretical category which contextualises country's
Total history and offers conceptual and methodological tools to map the
colonial exploitation and decode its discourse. For someone like Gayatri
Spivak, unlike those who has made it an identity marker, the term
'postcolonial' like 'subaltern' is a term that has to be "displaced" and
not to be taken up as an accurate description of a country.

Nevertheless, the term "post-colonial" is theoreticaly ambigious and its
very usefulness lies in its relative ambiguity which allows us to
venture into nature and process of colonialisms (no one monolithic
colonialism please!)

For the conceptual ambivalence of the term Postcolonial, please see
among many others:
McClintock, Anne (1992) 'Anglessss of Progress: Pitfalls of the term
"Post-Colonialissm"' Social Text, 31/2,84-98
and Shohaat, Ellah 'Notes on "Post-Colonial"' in ST,31/2,99-113


As far your particular question is concerned, I think, we should not
look for good for all purpose defination or description of colonialism,
but should look at the historical process that gave shape to specific
forms of colonial exploitation in each cases. Alas, there are no ready
made answers. 

Please comment


ayelet zohar wrote:
> 
> I am intersted in the question of East-Asian states and status. Would it be
> agreeable to relate to China as "postcolonial" country that had suffered
> from English and other European colonialism, though never really lost its
> sovereignity to colonial powers, but was conquered in large sections?
> Is it agreeable to relate to Korea's postcolonial status after the years of
> Japanese occupation? Japanese colonialism?
> Is it possible to relate to Japan as a postcolonial state, although never
> suffered direct occupation but was committed to Western culture - from
> Dutch and Portuguese encounters in 16th c., to English and American (that
> actually has occupied it later) deep influences during 19th c.?
> 
> Any comments will be appreciated,
> 
> best wishes
> 
> ayelet zohar
> graduate student
> porter institute of semiotics and poetics
> tel aviv university
> 
> e-mail:ayelet.zohar-AT-ipc.co.il
> 
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