Postcolonialism

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A theoretical framework that investigates the cultural, social, and political consequences of colonialism on societies that have experienced it
2. A lens through which the lasting influences, identities, and power structures resulting from colonial practices are critically analyzed
3. A scholarly approach that examines the enduring impacts of colonial rule on cultural identities, societal structures, and political dynamics in formerly colonized regions

Etymology: Postcolonialism is a modern compound, built by attaching the prefix "post-", meaning "after", to "colonialism." The prefix comes from Latin "post," while "colonialism" traces back through "colonial" and "colony" to the Latin "colonus," a farmer or settler, from "colere," to cultivate. The word therefore quietly joins two ideas: a settler working the land, and a later period that follows his presence. The sense of the term is more contested than its construction. Read literally, "post-colonial" suggests that colonial rule has simply ended, but the word is widely used to describe the continuing economic, cultural and political effects that outlasted formal independence. That gap between the literal meaning and the lived reality is the source of much of the debate around it. The hyphen is a clue to the word's history. Postcolonialism is a formal coinage built from familiar parts rather than an ancient term, so its meaning rests on the modern debates that gave it currency rather than on any older usage.