The first reference work to provide an integrated and authoritative body of information about the political, cultural and economic contexts of postcolonial literatures that have their provenance in the major European Empires of Belgium, Denmark, France, G

This is the first reference guide to the political, cultural and economic histories that form the subject-matter of postcolonial literatures written in English.The focus of the Companion is principally on the histories of postcolonial literatures in the Anglophone world - Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, South-east Asia, Australia and New Zealand, the Pacific, the Caribbean and Canada. There are also long entries discussing the literatures and histories of those further areas that have also claimed the title 'postcolonial', notably Britain, East Asia, Ireland, Latin America and the United States. The Companion contains:*220 entries written by 150 acknowledged scholars of postcolonial history and literature;*covers major events, ideas, movements, and figures in postcolonial histories*long regional survey essays on historiography and women's histories. Each entry provides a summary of the historical event or topic and bibliographies of postcolonial literary works and histories. Extensive cross-references and indexes enable readers to locate particular literary texts in their relevant historical contexts, as well as to discover related literary texts and histories in other regions with ease.

The majority of the entries focus on the period after the end of colonial rule in Britain's Empire, but as many postcolonial literary works re-visit the period of colonial rule, the Companion includes entries on certain events from this earlier period too.

Offers a lucid introduction to postcolonial studies, one of the most important strands in recent literary theory and cultural studies.

This volume examines the tumultuous changes that have occurred and are still occurring in the aftermath of European colonization of the globe from 1492 to 1947. Ranges widely over the major themes, regions, theories and practices of postcolonial study Presents original essays by the leading proponents of postcolonial study in the Americas, Europe, India, Africa, East and West Asia Provides clear introductions to the major social and political movements underlying colonization and decolonization, accessible histories of the literature and culture, and separate regions affected by European colonization Features introductory essays on the major thinkers and intellectual schools that have informed strategies of national liberation worldwide Offers an incisive summary of the long history and theory of modern European colonization in local detail and global scale

The growing debate over British national identity, and the place of "Englishness" within it, raises crucial questions about multiculturalism, postimperial culture and identity, and the past and future histories of globalization. However, discussions of Englishness have too often been limited by insular conceptions of national literature, culture, and history, which serve to erase or marginalize the colonial and postcolonial locations in which British national identity has been articulated. This volume breaks new ground by drawing together a range of disciplinary approaches in order to resituate the relationship between British national identity and Englishness within a global framework. Ranging from the literature and history of empire to analyses of contemporary culture, postcolonial writing, political rhetoric, and postimperial memory after 9/11, this collection demonstrates that far from being parochial or self-involved, the question of Englishness offers an important avenue for thinking about the politics of national identity in our postcolonial and globalized world.