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Chapter 7 - Writing Postcolonial Capitalism

from Part I - Histories and Critical Traditions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2022

By
Cheryl Narumi Naruse
Edited by
Paul Crosthwaite ,
Peter Knight  and
Nicky Marsh
Paul Crosthwaite
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh
Peter Knight
Affiliation:
University of Manchester
Nicky Marsh
Affiliation:
University of Southampton
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Summary

This chapter examines literary representations and critiques of postcolonial capitalism, a form of capitalism that is practiced, rationalized, and imagined with respect to a historical and geopolitical consciousness of colonial subordination. Recognizing the significance of postcolonial capitalism as its own distinct formation, the essay argues, is important for rethinking dominant approaches to critical studies of capitalism. The essay examines how literary texts take up themes of postcolonial capitalism such as racial and historical difference as a form of cultural and social capital, subaltern capitalism, capitalism as redress for historical injustice, expressions of economic solidarity, and new configurations of power. Authors under discussion include Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Aravind Adiga, Amitav Ghosh, and Derek Walcott.

Keywords

postcolonial literaturepostcolonial capitalismsubaltern capitalismracepostcolonial exoticpostcolonial entrepreneurAsian Centurymigrant worker literature
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Companion to Literature and Economics , pp. 114 - 130
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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