Abdulrazak Gurnah and Hanif Kureishi: Failed Revolutions

Abstract

As the term ‘postcolonialism’ changed from its original meaning, from an historical period (used to avoid the misleading ‘colonial’, ‘independence’, ‘post-independence’ chronology) it took on various cultural and political significances, most of which are concerned with the continuing effects of Western imperialism on Others, and with cultural resistance to those who hold power in the West. As the term has become fashionable it has been applied to all ‘minority’ struggles against a dominant order, and even to all post-invasion periods of history. It is not uncommon to hear of classical or medieval postcolonial studies. Like most once cutting edge ideas that have been around too long, ‘postcolonialism’ has become a cliché, a ‘received idea’ enshrined in the cultural vocabulary. It is unlikely that any student of literature can avoid some version of ‘post-colonialism’ or ‘postcolonial resistance theory’.