Colonialism's Culture

Nicholas Thomas is the author of several previous books including Out of Time: History and Evolution in Anthropological Discourse (Cambridge University Press, 1989) and Entangled Objects: Exchange, Material Culture and Colonialism in the Pacific (Harvard, 1991).

• List of Illustrations. Preface.Introduction.1. From Present to Past: the Politics of Colonial Studies.2. Culture and Rule: Theories of Colonial Discourse.3. From Past to Present: Colonial Epochs, Agents, and Locations.4. Colonial Governmentality and Colonial Conversion.5. Imperial Triumph, Settler Failure.6. The Primitivist and the Postcolonial.

'Nicholas Thomas's book ... is at once a useful introduction to, and sustained critique of, some of the orthodoxies current where colonial and cultural studies meet.' African History 'Colonialism's Culture deserves a place in the modern critical canon alongside such classics as Johannes Fabian's Time and the Other.' Peter Mason'There are many interesting facets to this book. To the extent that it helps lead to a honed political vision of colonial culture, and not in the opposite direction, it will make an important contribution.' Progress in Human Geography'A trenchant critique of prevailing theories of colonialism.' Environment and Planning'Bold, different and stimulating.' Year's Work in Critical and Cultural Theory