Introduction: “The Toolbox of Postcolonialism” by Michael Dutton, Leela Gandhi & Sanjay Seth
“The Toolbox of Postcolonialism” by Michael Dutton, Leela Gandhi, and Sanjay Seth first appeared in 1999 in the journal Postcolonial Studies. This seminal piece has been instrumental in shaping the field of postcolonial studies, providing a comprehensive overview of key concepts and methodologies. Its significance in literature and literary theory lies in its ability to offer a framework for analyzing and understanding the complex legacies of colonialism and imperialism, particularly as they manifest in literary texts.
Summary of “The Toolbox of Postcolonialism” by Michael Dutton, Leela Gandhi & Sanjay Seth
- Postcolonialism and Epistemological Disenchantment: The article begins by discussing the influence of Edward Said’s Orientalism on postcolonial studies, noting how it introduced a critical view of knowledge systems as inherently impure and corruptible. This disillusionment, inherited by the New Humanities, reflects a fall from a mythic past when knowledge was seen as pure and ethical. Postcolonialism, similarly, acknowledges a nostalgic desire for precolonial purity that remains unattainable.
- The Competing Desires for Emptiness: Postcolonialism reveals a dual yearning for purity on both sides of the colonial divide. The Western canon is represented by figures like Harold Bloom, who long for an “unpoliticized” past, while thinkers like Ashis Nandy express a desire for the “precolonial” purity. However, postcolonialism acknowledges that such purity is unattainable after colonialism, with only competing desires for competing voids.
- Art as a Metaphor for the Postcolonial Void: The authors use art as a metaphor to explore the notion of emptiness in postcolonial thought. They compare Alexander Archipenko’s sculpture Woman Combing Her Hair with Zhang Hongtu’s “black hole” art, both of which attempt to illustrate the impossibility of absolute emptiness. In Zhang’s work, the absence of Chairman Mao represents the lingering presence of the colonial past, which continues to haunt postcolonial societies.
- Localized Postcolonialism: The article emphasizes the importance of local contexts in postcolonial thought, arguing that attempts to globalize postcolonialism would result in epistemic violence. Instead, postcolonialism must be understood as a series of “family resemblances,” with distinct manifestations depending on geography, politics, and local intellectual traditions. This approach highlights the limitations of Western academic frameworks in interpreting non-Western postcolonial experiences.
- Critiques of Postcolonialism: The authors address critiques of postcolonialism by scholars like Arif Dirlik and H. D. Harootunian. Dirlik argues that postcolonialism has strayed from its radical roots, prioritizing ethnicity and race over class and nationalism, sometimes reinforcing essentialist notions. Harootunian criticizes postcolonialism for failing to challenge area studies, a domain rooted in Orientalist frameworks, and instead becoming overly focused on literary studies, losing sight of material power structures.
- The Role of Marxism in Postcolonialism: Despite these critiques, the authors defend the continued relevance of Marxism in postcolonial studies. They argue that postcolonialism’s associations with Marxism are crucial for addressing the material underpinnings of colonialism and its aftermath, particularly in engaging with the subaltern and colonized populations.
- Postcolonialism as a Toolbox: The article concludes by rejecting the idea of postcolonialism as a grand theory or unified framework. Instead, postcolonialism should be seen as a “toolbox” of provisional strategies and concepts that vary based on disciplinary and local contexts. This metaphor highlights the adaptability and fluidity of postcolonial approaches in addressing different cultural and intellectual terrains.
Literary Terms/Concepts in “The Toolbox of Postcolonialism” by Michael Dutton, Leela Gandhi & Sanjay Seth
| Literary Term/Concept | Explanation | Context in the Article |
| Orientalism | A term coined by Edward Said referring to the Western tradition of stereotyping and dominating the East. | Used to discuss the impurities in Western knowledge systems and the corruptibility of knowledge as exemplified by Said. |
| Epistemic Violence | The harm caused by imposing one system of knowledge over another, leading to the marginalization of non-Western knowledge. | Referenced in the discussion about the dangers of attempting to unify global postcolonialism under Western frameworks. |
| Post-Lapsarian View | Refers to the fall from a state of innocence, here applied to the disillusionment with pure knowledge after recognizing its corruptibility. | Describes the New Humanities’ disillusionment with knowledge systems after poststructuralist critiques. |
| Nostalgia for Purity | A longing for a mythic past when knowledge or cultural conditions were perceived to be pure and untainted by colonialism or modernity. | Seen on both sides of the colonial divide, with Western figures longing for canonical purity and others for precolonial purity. |
| Subaltern | A term from Marxist and postcolonial theory, referring to populations outside of power structures, often marginalized by dominant cultures. | Used to discuss the relevance of Marxism in postcolonial studies and its focus on the material conditions of the colonized. |
| Void/Emptiness | The concept of an unattainable “empty space” or absence, symbolizing the loss or impossibility of pure postcolonial identity or knowledge. | Illustrated through artworks by Archipenko and Zhang, which both explore the void in the context of colonial and postcolonial space. |
| Area Studies | An academic discipline focused on studying specific geographical or cultural regions, often critiqued for its Orientalist roots. | Critiqued for perpetuating Western epistemological frameworks and not being redefined by postcolonialism, as suggested by Harootunian. |
| Family Resemblances | A Wittgensteinian concept referring to the similarities between different entities without a single unifying characteristic. | Applied to postcolonialism, suggesting that it should be understood as a set of related but diverse approaches. |
| Marxism | A socio-economic theory that focuses on class struggle and material conditions, central to critiques of capitalism and colonialism. | Defended by the authors as still relevant to postcolonial studies, particularly in its focus on material conditions. |
| Translation (Benjamin’s Theory) | Walter Benjamin’s idea that translation should extend the boundaries of the host language by introducing the foreignness of the original text. | Used as a metaphor for postcolonialism, advocating for the disruption of smooth transitions into Western epistemology. |
| Free-floating Signifier | A term from structuralism and post-structuralism, referring to a concept or term that has lost its specific meaning and becomes detached from its original context. | Critique of postcolonialism’s overuse and loss of focus, as argued by Arif Dirlik. |
| Chronological Marker | A way to signify a period or time frame, often associated with historical or temporal categorization. | Postcolonialism is said to be more than just a chronological marker (after colonialism) and less than a global theory. |
Contribution of “The Toolbox of Postcolonialism” by Michael Dutton, Leela Gandhi & Sanjay Seth to Literary Theory/Theories
- Critique of Orientalism and Knowledge Production:
“The Toolbox of Postcolonialism” builds on Edward Said’s Orientalism by deepening the critical examination of knowledge systems within postcolonial discourse. The article engages with Said’s idea of the inherent impurities in Western knowledge, highlighting how postcolonial theory inherited this critical understanding. The authors state, “From theorists like Said, the New Humanities have inherited a critical understanding of the contaminants that inhere within the most pious and exemplary knowledge formations.” This reinforces the importance of questioning how colonialism shaped not only political and economic structures but also knowledge production and academic disciplines. - Challenge to Grand Narratives in Postcolonialism:
The article makes a significant contribution by challenging the idea of postcolonialism as a unified or global theory. It argues against the imposition of a singular postcolonial framework, particularly one that emerges from Western academic traditions. The authors suggest that to attempt this would “entail a form of epistemic violence,” as different regions and cultures experience colonialism and postcolonialism in diverse ways. They assert that postcolonialism should instead be seen as “a mere set of provisional strategies, protocols and concepts, which arise out of a certain recognition of, and approach to, difference.” This view aligns with postmodern critiques of grand narratives, emphasizing localized and context-specific interpretations. - Postcolonialism as a Critique of Western Epistemology:
Another theoretical contribution of the article is its critique of Western epistemology through the lens of postcolonialism. The authors argue that the study of non-Western societies using Western intellectual categories is problematic. They claim that “the study of the non-West in terms of intellectual categories and protocols that have their origins in the West and its history is not an unproblematic exercise.” This critique aligns with poststructuralist theories that question the universal applicability of Western categories of knowledge and emphasizes the need for epistemological pluralism in literary and cultural studies. - Family Resemblances and Wittgensteinian Approach to Postcolonialism:
The article introduces the concept of family resemblances from Ludwig Wittgenstein’s philosophy as a way to describe the heterogeneous and plural nature of postcolonial theory. The authors state, “perhaps the only way to deal with such dissonance is to speak of postcolonialism as a series of ‘family resemblances.’” This contribution offers a new framework for understanding postcolonialism not as a monolithic theory, but as a collection of overlapping but distinct approaches. This aligns with poststructuralist and deconstructionist critiques that resist fixed meanings and advocate for fluid, context-dependent interpretations in literary theory. - The Role of Marxism in Postcolonial Studies:
The article affirms the continued relevance of Marxism to postcolonial studies, especially in addressing material conditions. The authors argue that “postcolonialism’s associations with Marxism were not accidental, and that they neither can nor should be transcended.” They suggest that Marxism remains crucial for engaging with the colonized and subaltern, as it offers tools for analyzing the material underpinnings of colonialism and its aftermath. This contribution reinforces the role of Marxist theory in critiquing the economic and material dimensions of imperialism, which remains an essential aspect of postcolonial studies. - Intersection of Art and Postcolonialism:
The article extends postcolonial theory by exploring its intersection with art, particularly in discussions of emptiness and void. The analysis of artworks by Alexander Archipenko and Zhang Hongtu reveals how postcolonial theory can be applied to visual forms, offering new insights into the representation of colonial and postcolonial spaces. The authors argue that “even the most evacuated of spaces… will take the shape of the desire that calls them into being.” This contribution suggests that postcolonialism is not limited to textual analysis but can also inform the critique of visual and spatial forms in postcolonial contexts. - Critique of Area Studies through Postcolonialism:
The article critically engages with area studies, a field traditionally rooted in Orientalist frameworks, and argues that postcolonialism missed an opportunity to redefine it. The authors cite Harootunian’s criticism, noting that “postcolonialism found a home… in English departments… [and] lost sight of the material dimension to power.” This critique contributes to the broader theoretical discussion on the relationship between postcolonialism and area studies, suggesting that postcolonialism could have reformed area studies by offering new methodologies and epistemologies that reject Orientalist assumptions.
Examples of Critiques Through “The Toolbox of Postcolonialism” by Michael Dutton, Leela Gandhi & Sanjay Seth
| Literary Work | Critique Through “The Toolbox of Postcolonialism” | Key Concept from the Article |
| Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness | Through the postcolonial lens offered in the article, Heart of Darkness can be critiqued for its portrayal of African spaces as “void” or empty, where the native population is dehumanized and seen as part of the landscape rather than as individuals. This mirrors the article’s discussion of the “desire for uncharted/ unoccupied ‘empty space,’” which is a colonial impulse that erases native subjectivity in favor of Western exploration and domination. | Void/Emptiness: The colonial impulse to view space as empty. |
| E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India | The portrayal of British colonial figures in A Passage to India reflects the “epistemic violence” discussed in the article, where Western knowledge and authority over Indian subjects are justified by an assumed superiority. The novel’s tension between the colonizer and colonized demonstrates the impossibility of a pure, unpoliticized interaction. The article’s critique of the purity of knowledge in colonial relationships can be applied to the dynamics in the novel. | Epistemic Violence: Imposing Western frameworks on the colonized. |
| Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart | Using the article’s critique, Achebe’s Things Fall Apart can be read as a response to the Western canon’s erasure of African subjectivity. Postcolonialism, as discussed, rejects the “purity” of colonial knowledge. Achebe’s work embodies the critical toolset of postcolonialism, showing how colonial knowledge systems violently disrupt indigenous culture and knowledge. The novel also engages with the nostalgia for a precolonial purity, which remains unattainable after colonialism. | Nostalgia for Purity: Longing for a precolonial cultural purity. |
| Jean Rhys’s Wide Sargasso Sea | In Wide Sargasso Sea, Rhys challenges the Western portrayal of the “Other” by giving voice to the colonized (Antoinette) and critiquing the imperial gaze found in works like Jane Eyre. This aligns with the article’s view that postcolonial theory should “unsettle critical categories” derived from Western epistemologies. Rhys destabilizes Western notions of race, identity, and mental illness by presenting the colonial encounter from the perspective of the marginalized. | Unsettling Critical Categories: Critiquing Western knowledge systems. |
Criticism Against “The Toolbox of Postcolonialism” by Michael Dutton, Leela Gandhi & Sanjay Seth
- Lack of Practical Solutions for Postcolonial Contexts:
While the article offers a strong theoretical critique of postcolonialism, it does not provide clear practical steps or strategies for how scholars can effectively address the challenges of colonial legacies in concrete social, political, or academic contexts. - Overemphasis on Western Academic Critique:
The article focuses heavily on critiquing Western academic frameworks but does not adequately address how non-Western intellectual traditions could be integrated into postcolonial theory in a way that is substantive and transformative. - Fragmentation of Postcolonial Theory:
The authors argue for a view of postcolonialism as a “toolbox” with localized applications, which may lead to a fragmentation of the field. This approach could dilute the coherence of postcolonial studies, making it harder for scholars to identify common ground or shared objectives within the discipline. - Insufficient Engagement with Non-Literary Postcolonial Disciplines:
Although the article critiques the dominance of literary studies in postcolonialism, it does not provide enough engagement with non-literary disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, or history, where postcolonial theory could have broader applications. - Theoretical Elitism:
The dense and highly theoretical language of the article may alienate readers who are not deeply versed in poststructuralist or deconstructionist theory. This limits accessibility, particularly for scholars or practitioners working in postcolonial contexts outside of elite academic circles. - Nostalgic Overtones in Postcolonial Critique:
The article critiques both colonial and precolonial nostalgia but does not fully explore how contemporary postcolonial thinkers can move beyond this nostalgia in a constructive manner, leaving readers without a forward-looking framework for postcolonial studies. - Minimal Attention to the Role of Globalization:
While the article critiques the idea of a globalized postcolonialism, it does not sufficiently address how globalization and modern transnational dynamics shape contemporary postcolonial conditions, particularly in economic and cultural terms.
Representative Quotations from “The Toolbox of Postcolonialism” by Michael Dutton, Leela Gandhi & Sanjay Seth with Explanation
| Quotation | Explanation |
| “From theorists like Said, the New Humanities have inherited a critical understanding of the contaminants that inhere within the most pious and exemplary knowledge formations.” | This refers to how postcolonial theory, building on Edward Said’s critique of Orientalism, recognizes that no knowledge system is pure or neutral. It reflects the idea that knowledge is often contaminated by colonial and imperial biases. |
| “To tie the disparate strands of postcolonialism into a single unified entity, paradigm or ‘thing’ would not only entail a form of epistemic violence but… be nigh on impossible.” | The authors argue that postcolonialism cannot be reduced to a single theory or framework because doing so would erase the complexity of different postcolonial contexts. Attempting to unify it could result in a form of intellectual domination. |
| “Postcolonialism is also compelled to concede that after colonialism there is no real hope of a disciplinary purity or a secular western/non-western nothingness.” | This quotation reflects the idea that postcolonialism acknowledges that there is no return to a precolonial purity. Both Western and non-Western knowledge systems have been altered by colonialism, leaving behind a permanent impact. |
| “Even the most evacuated of spaces… will take the shape of the desire that calls them into being.” | This metaphor, drawn from the discussion of art, suggests that even seemingly empty spaces are shaped by the cultural and political desires of those who define them. It relates to how colonialism frames non-Western spaces as “empty” or devoid. |
| “There are, in the end, only competing desires for competing voids, each marked by a culturally different/specific failure to realize the dream of emptiness.” | This highlights how postcolonial theory exposes the impossibility of returning to a pure or empty space. Both colonial and anti-colonial desires are marked by the failure to reclaim an imagined past or untouched identity. |
| “Postcolonialism increasingly functions as ‘a free floating signifier,’ all too often devoid of content, or repackaging knowledge under a newer, sexier label.” | This quotation critiques the growing trend of using postcolonialism as a fashionable term in academia without substance, where it loses its original radical political and intellectual force, becoming detached from its core principles. |
| “We must look less for meaning and more for use in any definition of the various postcolonialisms around the globe.” | The authors advocate for focusing on how postcolonialism is applied in different contexts rather than trying to define a universal meaning. This reflects a pragmatic approach to understanding postcolonial theory in specific local conditions. |
| “The study of the non-West in terms of intellectual categories and protocols that have their origins in the West and its history is not an unproblematic exercise.” | This critique suggests that using Western intellectual frameworks to study non-Western societies can perpetuate colonial biases. It points to the need for new methods that account for non-Western epistemologies and experiences. |
| “Postcolonialism must aim to be something more than a chronological marker (after colonialism) and something less than a global or grand theory.” | This highlights the authors’ view that postcolonialism should not just be seen as a historical period or a grand overarching theory. Instead, it should function as a toolkit for analyzing specific postcolonial situations and contexts. |
| “Marxism will always be a source of questions and strategies, a salutary means of remembering the material underpinnings of colonialism and its aftermath.” | The authors reaffirm the relevance of Marxism in postcolonial studies, particularly for understanding the economic and material conditions of colonialism. This links postcolonial theory to broader critiques of capitalism and class exploitation. |
Suggested Readings: “The Toolbox of Postcolonialism” by Michael Dutton, Leela Gandhi & Sanjay Seth
- Said, Edward W. Orientalism. Pantheon Books, 1978. https://archive.org/details/orientalism00said
- Bhabha, Homi K. The Location of Culture. Routledge, 1994.
https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203820551 - Spivak, Gayatri Chakravorty. “Can the Subaltern Speak?” Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture, edited by Cary Nelson and Lawrence Grossberg, University of Illinois Press, 1988.
https://www.mcgill.ca/files/crclaw-discourse/Can_the_subaltern_speak.pdf - Dirlik, Arif. “The Postcolonial Aura: Third World Criticism in the Age of Global Capitalism.” Critical Inquiry, vol. 20, no. 2, 1994, pp. 328-356.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1343914 - Young, Robert J. C. Postcolonialism: An Historical Introduction.
Blackwell, 2001. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118693940 - Loomba, Ania. Colonialism/Postcolonialism. 3rd ed., Routledge, 2015.
URL: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315751245 - Gandhi, Leela. Postcolonial Theory: A Critical Introduction.
Columbia University Press, 1998. https://www.perlego.com/book/775805/postcolonial-theory-a-critical-introduction-pdf - Said, Edward W. “Traveling Theory.” The World, the Text, and the Critic, Harvard University Press, 1983. https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674366807.c16
- Ashcroft, Bill, Gareth Griffiths, and Helen Tiffin. The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-Colonial Literatures. 2nd ed., Routledge, 2002. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203426081
- Chakrabarty, Dipesh. Provincializing Europe: Postcolonial Thought and Historical Difference. Princeton University Press, 2000. https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691130019/provincializing-europe