After Colonialism: Imperial Histories and Postcolonial Displacements

356 Pages·2001·1.376 MB·English

by  Gyan Prakash

AFTER COLONIALISM

Copyright(cid:211) 1995byPrincetonUniversityPress
PublishedbyPrincetonUniversityPress,41WilliamStreet,
Princeton,NewJersey08540
IntheUnitedKingdom:PrincetonUniversityPress,
Chichester,WestSussex
AllRightsReserved
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Aftercolonialism:imperialhistoriesandpostcolonial
displacements/editedbyGyanPrakash.
p. cm.—(Princetonstudiesinculture/power/history)
Includesindex.
eISBN 1-4008-0636-4(cid:13)(cid:10)
1.Colonies—History. 2.Imperialism—History.
I.Prakash,Gyan,1952– . II.Series.
JV105.A35 1994
325¢.32—dc20 94-21310 CIP
Thefollowingessayshavebeenpublishedpreviouslyinslightly
differentform:HomiK.Bhabha,“InaSpiritofCalmViolence,”
as“ByBreadAlone,”inhisTheLocationofCulture(London:
Routledge,1994),reprintedwithpermission;StevenFeierman,
“AfricainHistory:TheEndofUniversalNarratives,”as“African
HistoryandWorldHistory,”inAfricaandtheDisciplines,ed.Robert
H.Bates,V.Y.Mudimbe,andJeanO’Barr(Chicago:Universityof
ChicagoPress,1993)(cid:211) 1993byTheUniversityofChicago.Allrights
reserved;J.JorgeKlordeAlva,“ThePostcolonizationofthe(Latin)
AmericanExperience;AReconsiderationof‘Colonialism,’‘Post-
colonialism,’and‘Mestizaje,’”as“ColonialismandPost-Colonialism
as(Latin)AmericanMirages,”ColonialLatinAmericanReview1,nos.
1–2(1992):3–23;andEdwardSaid,“SecularIntrepretation,the
GeographicalElement,andtheMethodologyofImperialism,”
reprintedbypermissionfromhisCultureandImperialism(NewYork:
AlfredA.Knopf,Inc.,1993),copyright(cid:211) 1993byEdwardW.Said.
ThisbookhasbeencomposedinGalliard
(cid:10)
Contents
Preface vii
Introduction: After Colonialism 3
Gyan Prakash
PART ONE: COLONIALISM AND THE DISCIPLINES
Chapter 1. Secular Interpretation,the Geographical Element,
and the Methodology of Imperialism 21
Edward Said
Chapter 2. Africa in History: The End of Universal Narratives 40
Steven Feierman
Chapter 3. Haiti, History, and the Gods 66
Joan Dayan
Chapter 4. Why Not Tourist Art? Significant Silences
in Native American Museum Representations 98
Ruth B. Phillips
PART TWO: COLONIALISM AND CULTURAL
DIFFERENCE
Chapter 5. The Effacement of Difference:Colonialism and
the Origins of Nationalism in Diderot and Herder 129
Anthony Pagden
Chapter 6. Retributionand Remorse: The Interaction between
the Administrationand the Protestant Mission in Early
Colonial Formosa 153
Leonard Blussé
Chapter 7. Coping with (Civil) Death: The ChristianConvert’s
Rights of Passage in Colonial India 183
Gauri Viswanathan
Chapter 8. Exclusion and Solidarity: Labor Zionism and
Arab Workers in Palestine, 1897–1929 211
Zachary Lockman
vi CONTENTS
Chapter 9. The Postcolonization of the (Latin) American
Experience: A Reconsideration of “Colonialism,”
“Postcolonialism,” and “Mestizaje” 241
J. Jorge Klor de Alva
PART THREE: COLONIAL DISCOURSE AND ITS
DISPLACEMENTS
Chapter 10. Becoming Indian in the Central Andes
of Seventeenth-Century Peru 279
Irene Silverblatt
Chapter 11. Ethnographic Travesties: Colonial Realism,
French Feminism, and the Case of Elissa Rhaïs 299
Emily Apter
Chapter 12. In a Spirit of Calm Violence 326
Homi K. Bhabha
Notes on the Contibutors 345
Index 347
Preface
IN RECENT YEARS, the study of colonialism has witnessed a resurgence
of scholarly interest and attracted a great deal of valuable research and
rethinking across several disciplines. With a view to advance the study
andreconsiderationofthe colonialexperienceanditseffects,theShelby
Cullom Davis Center for Historical Studies, Princeton University, orga-
nizedaseriesofseminarsandcolloquiaovertwoyears(1990–92)onthe
theme, “Imperialism, Colonialism, and the Colonial Aftermath.” The
Centerappointedvisitingfellowsandinvitedscholars,representingava-
rietyofdisciplinesandapproaches,topresenttheirresearchatitsweekly
seminars, colloquia, and luncheon discussions. The fellows and their
areas of research ranged from India, North and sub-Saharan Africa, the
Caribbean, and Latin America to Europe and North America. The top-
icswere similarly varied andextendedfromancient tomodernimperial-
ism;frommedicalhistorytovodoutoraceandslaverytoliterarygenres
to museums to urbanization. Interpretive approaches encompassed the
analysisofpoliticaleconomy,socialhistory,literaryanalysis,andcultural
criticism.Papersweredrawnfromdifferentdisciplines—history,anthro-
pology, literature—and discussions often crossed disciplinary bound-
aries to explore issues of evidence, knowability, methods, and possibili-
ties of other forms of knowledge and agency.
This volume represents a selection from the two years of wide-rang-
ing and stimulating presentations. Its objective is to display a range of
approaches currently employed to offer a fresh understanding of mod-
ern colonial history and reflect on the forms of identities and knowl-
edges it produced. Many papers could not be included because they
were either committed elsewhere for publication or did not fit the
themesofthisvolume.Butthepresentselectionowesagreatdealtothe
work of other fellows and papers not included here, as it does to the
discussions that started on Friday mornings at the seminar, spilled over
to the lunches, and continued into and surfaced in the next gathering.
All the participants, including the regulars from the history depart-
ment and other departments at Princeton, deserve thanks for making
the two years invigorating and productively contentious. But, most of
all, thanks are due to Natalie Zemon Davis, the director of the Davis
Center.Itwas herintelligence,enthusiasm,andinspiringleadershipthat
provided the essential continuity from one week to the next. She kept
discussions focused on important issues, reminded the seminar of con-
vergences and differences in interpretations and methods, and offered
viii PREFACE
constructive criticisms. Natalie’s characteristic leadership put its stamp
on discussions, and the participants waited with anticipation for her
summaries at the end of Friday seminars. The volume has benefited a
great deal from her leadership during those two years, and I was fortu-
nate to receive her advice in fulfilling my editorial responsibilities.
I am grateful to Kari Hoover, the secretary of the Davis Center, who
cheerfully handled various chores related to the preparation of this vol-
ume, and to Random House for allowing us to reprint Edward Said’s
essay, which was presented originally at the Davis Center and published
in his Culture and Imperialism. I am also grateful to my editor, Mary
Murrell,atPrincetonUniversityPress,whosawpotentialinthisvolume
and whose support and insights were invaluable.
AFTER COLONIALISM