The Decolonization of Imagination: Culture, Knowledge and Power - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 185649280X ISBN 13: 9781856492805

Publisher: Zed Books Ltd, 1995

Synopsis

'The Decolonization of the Imagination' paves the way for a truly global cultural politics. A distinguished cast of contributors, from both North and South, looks at the relations between culture and power, domination and the imagination in a variety of contexts. Part one explores colonial imaginaries by unpacking the imageries and discourses of domination ? from the nineteenth century to contemporary Western images of the Middle East. Part two analyses imaginaries of cultural pluralism from the frontiers of the colonial past to contemporary Californian ?culture wars?. Part three assesses the impact of globalization on decolonizing processes. The book rejects both Eurocentrism and other forms of Western ethnocentrism as well as questioning third world cultural nationalism as a form of resistance to imperialism. A new perspective is offered, which looks beyond polycentrism towards the normalization of cultural pluralism, and a post-coloniality that transcends old North/South boundaries.

About this title

Synopsis

This collection provides an overview of strategies towards cultural decolonization in a post-Cold War world and to explore options for a global cultural politics. Addressing itself to an audience in both the South and the North, the book's contributors explore the relations between power and culture, between domination and the imagination. Acknowledging that former colonizers and colonized have both been shaped by a colonial imaginary, they explore a variety of decolonization strategies. This perspective rejects Eurocentrism and other forms of Western ethnocentrism, as well as traditional Third World cultural nationalism as a form of resistance to imperialism. Instead, a new vision is offered that opens the way to polycentrism, a normalization of cultural pluralism, and a post-coloniality that accepts a transcendence of old North-South boundaries.

About the Author

Jan Nederveen Pieterse is Mellichamp Professor of Global Studies and Sociology at the University of California at Santa Barbara. His previous publications include Ethnicities and Global Multiculture (2007) and Globalization and Empire (2004). He has previously edited two Zed books Global Futures and The Decolonization of Imagination.

Edition details

• Publisher: Zed Books Ltd
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 185649280X
• ISBN 13: 9781856492805
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 256
• Editor: Pieterse Jan Nederveen, Parekh Bhikhu