(Trans-)Formation of Cultural Identity through Political Violence in Postcolonial Literature

Iris Bicakcic

(Trans-)Formation of Cultural Identity through Political Violence in Postcolonial Literature

ISBN 978-3-86821-262-4, 180 pp., paperback, € 21,00 (2010)

(ELCH - Studies in English Literary and Cultural History, Vol. 45)

This study seeks to explore the intricate relation between the concepts of cultural identity and political violence in the context of postcolonial literature. In (post)colonial societies, the sense of cultural belonging is often asserted through the employment of political violence which is manifested through abusive use of power by the dominant group. The question raised here is whether political violence has a formative role in the process of cultural identity formation and if so, how violence affects the sense of cultural belonging of those who were formerly colonized. The theoretical background has its reflections in the analyzed literary texts belonging to the contemporary postcolonial literature in English, including Andrea Levy’s "Fruit of the Lemon", Hanif Kureishi’s "The Buddha of Suburbia", Achmat Dangor’s "Bitter Fruit", Diran Adebayo’s "Some Kind of Black", Caryl Phillip’s "The Final Passage", Chinua Achebe’s "Anthills of the Savannah" and Tsitsi Dangarembga’s "Nervous Conditions".

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