Regional Editors: John Beverley, Charles Forsdick, Pierre-Philippe Fraiture, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Theo Dh'aen, Lars Jensen, Birthe Kundrus, Elizabeth Monasterios, Phillip Rothwell
This volume complements A Historical Companion to Postcolonial Literatures in English (Edinburgh, 2005) and is the first reference to integrate an authoritative body of work on the political, cultural, and economic contexts of postcolonial literatures originating in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Latin America, and the Philippines. Comprehensive in its geographical scope, the Companion extends from South America and the Caribbean to Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. It accommodates the literatures and histories of regions in which Europe merges into Asia, as in the cases of Turkey and Russia, and includes essays on the Jewish Diaspora and our current "clash of civilizations".
Written by recognized scholars in postcolonial studies, entries cover major events, ideas, movements, and figures. Topics range from Europe's overseas exploration, settlement, and colonization to decolonization and highlight the relevance of colonial histories to the cultural, social, political, and literary formations of contemporary postcolonial societies and nations. Each entry provides a succinct account of an event or topic and suggests further reading in literary works and histories.
By outlining the historical contexts of postcolonial literatures, this volume is essential to decoding complex debates on race, politics, economics, colonialism and neo-colonialism, and culture and language.
