Earth, World, Planet: Where Does the Postcolonial Literary Critic Stand?

Abstract

Contemporary global culture is inevitably culture in translation. It encompasses encounter, exchange, and transformation, disruption and the emergence of the totally new. Drawing on contemporary theorists in fields of cultural studies and postcolonial studies, this interdisciplinary collection of essays explores the functions of cultural translation in – and as – translocation. They analyze the uneven distribution of power and wealth alongside the unpredictable emergence of forms of agency in postcolonial and diasporic contexts, and in relation to the appetites of the global cultural and information economy. With diverse geocultural emphases, they refer to literature, film, television, electronic media, music, and other spaces of cultural gathering, collection, and performance. The essays span theoretical engagement and case study approaches, taking cultural materials and practices as objects, mediums, and agents of translocation. They contribute to vital contemporary debates about the politics of culture and peoples in translation.