Postcolonial Theory

Leela Gandhi lectures in the school of English at La Trobe University, Melbourne. She researches the cultural history of the Indo-British colonial encounter, and has published extensively in this area. She is the editor of Shakespeare: New Orientations and The Looking Glass and Other Poems, and coeditor of the journalPostcolonial Studies.

• Preface Introduction: After Colonialism Thinking Otherwise: A Brief Intellectual History Postcolonialism and the New Humanities Edward Said and His Critics Postcolonialism and Feminism Imagining Community: The Question of Nationalism One World: The Vision of Postnationalism Postcolonial Literatures Conclusion: The Limits of Postcolonial Theory

Gandhi goes a long way to successfully situate postcolonialism with a theoretical landscape and explain its engagement with humanism, Marxism, poststructuralism and other philosophical traditions. It is an enlightening and engaging book that will prove relevant to any number of intellectual inquiries into postcolonial studies, cultural politics and/or the so-called 'humanities'. It can serve as a primer for the student of postcolonial studies, and for hte more well-read student or scholar it will complete the picture, putting postcolonial theory into an epistemological context. Postcolonial Theory merits earnest commendation and will stand out as an important contribution to the field.