English And The Discourses Of Colonialism

English and the Discourses of Colonialism opens with the British departure from Hong Kong marking the end of British colonialism. Yet Alastair Pennycook argues that this dramatic exit masks the crucial issue that the traces left by colonialism run deep. This challenging and provocative book looks particularly at English, English language teaching, and colonialism. It reveals how the practice of colonialism permeated the cultures and discourses of both the colonial and colonized nations, the effects of which are still evident today. Pennycook explores the extent to which English is, as commonly assumed, a language of neutrality and global communication, and to what extent it is, by contrast, a language laden with meanings and still weighed down with colonial discourses that have come to adhere to it. Travel writing, newspaper articles and popular books on English, are all referred to, as well as personal experiences and interviews with learners of English in India, Malaysia, China and Australia. Pennycook concludes by appealing to postcolonial writing, to create a politics of opposition and dislodge the discourses of colonialism from English.

English and the Discourses of Colonialism opens with the British departure from Hong Kong marking the end of British colonialism. Yet Alastair Pennycook argues that this dramatic exit masks the crucial issue that the traces left by colonialism run deep. This challenging and provocative book looks particularly at English, English language teaching, and colonialism. It reveals how the practice of colonialism permeated the cultures and discourses of both the colonial and colonized nations, the effects of which are still evident today. Pennycook explores the extent to which English is, as commonly assumed, a language of neutrality and global communication, and to what extent it is, by contrast, a language laden with meanings and still weighed down with colonial discourses that have come to adhere to it. Travel writing, newspaper articles and popular books on English, are all referred to, as well as personal experiences and interviews with learners of English in India, Malaysia, China and Australia. Pennycook concludes by appealing to postcolonial writing, to create a politics of opposition and dislodge the discourses of colonialism from English.

Is the English language neutral, global and open to everyone? This text suggests not. By examining colonial language policies in India, Malaysia and Hong Kong, this book shows how various policies emerged.

"Césaire's essay stands as an important document in the development of third world consciousness--a process in which [he] played a prominent role." --Library Journal This classic work, first published in France in 1955, profoundly influenced the generation of scholars and activists at the forefront of liberation struggles in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Nearly twenty years later, when published for the first time in English, Discourse on Colonialism inspired a new generation engaged in the Civil Rights, Black Power, and anti-war movements and has sold more than 75,000 copies to date. Aimé Césaire eloquently describes the brutal impact of capitalism and colonialism on both the colonizer and colonized, exposing the contradictions and hypocrisy implicit in western notions of "progress" and "civilization" upon encountering the "savage," "uncultured," or "primitive." Here, Césaire reaffirms African values, identity, and culture, and their relevance, reminding us that "the relationship between consciousness and reality are extremely complex. . . . It is equally necessary to decolonize our minds, our inner life, at the same time that we decolonize society." An interview with Césaire by the poet René Depestre is also included.

This classic work, first published in France in 1955, profoundly influenced the generation of scholars and activists at the forefront of liberation struggles in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Nearly twenty years later, when published for the first time in English, Discourse on Colonialism inspired a new generation engaged in the Civil Rights, Black Power, and anti-war movements and has sold more than 75,000 copies to date.

Provides an in-depth introduction to debates within post-colonial theory and criticism. The many contributors include Frantz Fanon, Amilcar Cabral, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Homi Bhabha, Edward Said, Anthony Giddens, Anne McClintock, Stuart Hall, Paul Gilroy, and bell hooks.

Discourses of Difference unravels the complexities of writings by British women travellers of the `high colonial' period. Sara Mills examines the relation of women travellers to colonialism, positioned as they were at the site of conflicting discourses: femininity, feminism, and patriarchal imperialism. Using feminist discourse theory, Sara Mills analyses the writings of three women travellers - Alexandra David-Neel, Mary Kingsley and Nina Mazuchelli. Her examination of agency, identity, and the contemporary social environment, is an important and inspiring step forward in post-colonial cultural and literary theory.

In rapidly globalizing spaces of life, any research project on international education would necessarily have multi-directional emphases, with the quality of observations and analyses reflecting the expanding political, economic and cultural intersections which characterize this potentially promising century. To respond to these emerging learning and living contexts of our world, this book brings together some of the most active and established scholars in the field. As such, the book represents important epistemic interventions that analyze and critique the institutional, socio-economic, linguistic and pedagogical platforms of international education. As the locus of international education cannot be detached from the pragmatics of social development, the specific recommendations embedded in this book expand the debates and broaden the boundaries of learning projects that should enhance the lives of people, especially those who are continually marginalized by the regimes of globalization. Thus, the book actively advocates for possibilities of human well-beings via different formats of education in diverse locations of life. “Critical Perspectives on International Education offers a historically comprehensive, intellectually honest, and perspective-rich scholarly exploration of a new education-globalization dynamic. This book courageously offers up diverse voices, gathered into a robust and useful conversation regarding global education. This book adds greatly to understanding why educational marketplaces must be driven by principles and practices that empower diverse peoples, to secure sustainable knowledge benefits that contribute to personal, local, national and international well-being. This critical perspective reader will engage scholars, researchers and citizens.” Jim Paul, University of Calgary “In the current intensifications of globalization and its resulting inequalities, it is crucial to better understand the role of knowledge creation and knowledge dissemination. Should knowledge be only a commodity to be sold in the market and a tool to increase economic capital, or should it be a shared sociocultural capital aimed at improving democracy and the common good? In Critical Perspectives on International Education, Yvonne Hébert and Ali A. Abdi assemble an impressive array of contributions from all over the world that address this question from a variety of critical perspectives and case studies. I recommend this book to everyone interested in the connections between education, citizenship development and human well-being.” Daniel Schugurensky, Arizona State University