In the field of postcolonial studies, the full richness and complexity of the connections between literature, history and ideology are often overlooked by critics hurrying to stake out their political positions. As a result, many arguments are built on unjustified assumptions about the sort of work that literature – and criticism – can and cannot do. In this important and timely book, Harrison sheds new light on what is actually at issue in postcolonial criticism. Focusing on a series of major works, from Conrad’s Heart of Darkness to Djebar’s autobiography, the book draws on and elucidates a wide range of theoretical and critical work. To students unfamiliar with postcolonial criticism it offers a way into the field via key issues and specific examples rather than abstract theoretical summary, while for those already working in the area it raises crucial questions about the very basis of postcolonial critical practice.

Postcolonial Criticism is a major intervention in the field of postcolonial studies which re-examines critical suppositions about reading and representation, and which calls into question established notions about the relations between literature and colonialism.

1. Colonialism and Colonial Discourse

2. Racism, Realism and the Question of Historical Context

3. 'Race', Reading and Identification

4. Representation, Representativity and 'Minor' Literatures

5. Writing and Voice: Women, Nationalism and the Literary Self

6. Conclusion: Literature and the Work of Criticism

7. Afterword: Theory and Relativism (Fanon's Position)