Postcolonial Theory

This chapter covers selected research in postcolonial theory published in 2020 and some work delayed and published in early 2021. It begins with a discussion of a new edition of an introduction to postcolonialism and a journal issue with an article cluster devoted to the legacy of Edward Said’s Orientalism (1978) before it focuses on two books that rethink postcolonial studies. The work discussed demonstrates how the ideas in the postcolonial theory and methodology toolbox can still be put to good scholarly use in explorations of bottom-up postcolonialism and activism as well as in top-down postcolonialism and the reading of texts. The book-length studies propose reframing exercises and practical demonstrations that point to new avenues where postcolonial perspectives are still invigorating and, possibly, invaluable.