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Definitions

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About the lecture

In this lecture we think about the scope of postcolonial studies, including some key definitions, focusing in particular on: (i) the origins of the word ‘colonialism’ and the dictionary definition of the word ‘colony’; (ii) the importance of both the colonisers and the colonised when thinking about colonial encounters; (iii) the history of colonisation, including the Roman Empire, the Mongol Empire, the Aztec Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Qing Empire; (iv) the key differences between ancient and early modern empires and modern European empires; (v) the global scale of colonisation and (consequently) post-colonialism; (vi) the different kinds of colonialism and the key features of each, including: administrative colonialism, settler colonialism, plantation colonialism, and territorial annexation; (vii) the concept of neo-colonialism; (viii) the continued impact of colonialism in ‘postcolonial’ countries, including the oppression of those who remain outside the ruling elite even after formal decolonisation (e.g. African-Americans in the United States, lower-caste Indians in India, etc.); and (ix) the importance of precolonial as well as colonial and postcolonial histories.

About the lecturer

Ania Loomba is the Catherine Bryson Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania. She researches and teaches early modern literature, histories of race and colonialism, postcolonial studies, feminist theory, and contemporary Indian literature and culture. Her writings include Gender, Race, Renaissance Drama (1989), Colonialism/Postcolonialism (1998), and Shakespeare, Race, and Colonialism (2002). She has co-edited Post-Colonial Shakespeares (1998), Postcolonial Studies and Beyond (2005), Race in Early Modern England: A Documentary Companion (2007) and South Asian Feminisms (co-edited with Ritty A. Lukose, 2012). She has also produced a critical edition of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra (2011)

Cite this Lecture

APA style

Loomba, A. (2022, October 14). Theory and Independence - Definitions [Video]. MASSOLIT. https://massolit.io/options/theory-and-independence-4-3?auth=0&lesson=9491&option=305&type=lesson

MLA style

Loomba, A. "Theory and Independence – Definitions." MASSOLIT, uploaded by MASSOLIT, 14 Oct 2022, https://massolit.io/options/theory-and-independence-4-3?auth=0&lesson=9491&option=305&type=lesson