A Postcolonial Critique of Anthropology: Key Points and Analysis

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of the postcolonial critique of anthropology, delving into its key points and impact on the discipline. It examines the influence of postcolonialism, post-structuralism, and the concept of Whig history on anthropological studies. The essay incorporates the views of prominent scholars such as Edward Said and Frantz Fanon to illustrate the critiques. It discusses how anthropology has been challenged by postcolonial perspectives, especially regarding the legacy of imperialism, power dynamics, and cultural representations. The essay also explores the challenges faced by postcolonial critique in the 21st century, including globalization and the complexities of Western values. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of understanding the interplay between colonizers and the colonized and the ongoing relevance of postcolonial critique within anthropology.

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Postcolonial Critic of Anthropology
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Introduction
This essay addresses the key points in the post colonial critique of anthropology and what
these have meant to the development of the discipline into the 21st century. It focuses on post
colonialism, post structuralism and the Whig history. Different scholars like Edward Said are
also included in the excerpt to show their view on post colonialism and for a better understanding
of post colonial critique of anthropology. Anthropology is an academic discipline that has
received lots of criticism from different post colonial authors. Besides, it claims a deeper
understanding of the most basic and marginal components of post colonialism. Although
anthropology has reflected colonial as an ideology, academic modeling and governance has seen
its disciplinary parameters reconstructed in the real politics of decolonization.
Postcolonial Critic of Anthropology
Post colonialism is a discipline that analyses and responds to the cultural legacy of
imperialism and colonialism (Young 2012).Although it is the same as cultural anthropology, it
takes a different twist on politics as well as literature that allows a different discussion. In detail,
postcolonial critique is all about the literature by colonial powers and works by those who were
under the colony. According to Loomba (2015), postcolonial model looks at the aspects of
power, politics, religion, culture, and economic, as well as how these facets work in relation to
the colonizers controlling the colonized. Postcolonial theory looks at society and literature from
two perspectives; how a cultural workers and his context reflects the colonial past and second
how they survive as well as carve out means of understanding the world (Huggan and Tiffin
2015). Edward Said, a university professor of English and comparative literature, began his

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teaching career at the university of Colombia. In his book “Orientalism,” Said developed new
ways of theorizing the past centuries, when the imperialists established the colonies as strange
political and cultural objects, requiring the civilization efforts of the master's races, now what is
called the postcolonial theory(Madsen 2003). Being a public intellectual, Said spoke boldly
against Israeli colonialism in the occupied Palestine, the post colonial intellectual practice.
Another scholar, Frantz Fanon analyzed and described the nature of colonialism as
destructive. He wrote the ideological need of colonialism in a systematic denial of “all attributes
of human kind” of the colonized nations. According to Fanon, such dehumanization can be
achieved through mental and physical violence, through which colonialists implies “inculcate
servile mentality on the native.” The scholar argues that natives should never allow colonial
subjugation. Therefore describes refusal to colonialism being a “mentally cathartic discipline”
that urges “colonial servility from the native psyche, as well as restores a sense of respect to the
subjugated,” as Wallace (2002) puts it.
Post structuralism is another critique that investigated how the impact of colonial powers
transformed to the colonized cultures. The colonial powers whilst keeping the an important
outward influence over the political and economic landscape of the nations they were in charge ,
transferred concepts about social customs which ranged food to class as well as social
constructions (Msiska, 2010). However, post structuralism was concerned with how these
powers impacted as well as characterized cultures hence looking at the power relations as
multidimensional plus influential to every culture
According to Wallace (2002) the “Whig history presents past as a progression towards
the greater liberty and enlightenment culminating in the form of constitutional monarchy and
liberal democracy.” It emphasizes on the emergence of scientific progress, personal freedom as

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well as constitutional government. Ideally, Whig historian is the type of liberalism that places its
“faith in the power of human reason so as to shape the society for the better, irrespective of the
past as well as tradition.”
Post Colonial Critique of Anthropology in the 21st Century
Structuralism changed our way of thinking and interpretation of literature completely.
According to Loomba (2015), the change brought much attention to the link between politics and
literature, particularly in regard to identity and civil rights. This result was due to the evolution of
theoretical approaches to literature that put reinforcement on the aspect of literature in the
political, contrary to the narrower humanistic perspective. Some of these approaches are
feminism, queer theory, disability studies and post colonialism. As Msiska (2010) holds, the
connection between these approaches and liberal humanism is the focus of an individual as a
collective. Humanistic approaches to literature viewed literature as a paramount civilizing force
that is; it taught people what “humans” means. Ideally, liberal humanism saw human as a
general. Every person mourns the death of loved one and feels pain. On the other hand, literature
looks at different possibilities of human reactions to death, love and suffering (Young 2012).
These reactions help us understand the binding force between all of us as a human community.
During post structuralism, theorists of literature found it hard to accept that literature had ways of
protecting visions of woman hood that focused on the woman’s role at home plus her function as
an adjunct to the man. The readers also pointed out that lot of work from women authors had
vanished from literary history. According to Madsen (2003), the same attention began to be put
on literature that focused on minority people as well as a similar historical archaeology prevailed
among approaches to literature that looked at history for evidence of liberal humanism.

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However, as post colonial studies surfaced, they came under scrutiny where some critics
of post colonialism emerged which included the focus on western values even when the values
were challenged, the dependence on American discourse, as well as the perception of binary
thinking. Globalization is another challenge to post colonialism. While post colonialism
appeared to articulate as well as champion difference, globalization appeared to operate in a
different direction (Huggan and Tiffin 2015). However, forces in the business, academic studies
and economics brought a collective influence
Conclusion
This essay has explored the key points in the post colonial critique of anthropology. As it
is evident in the excerpt above, post colonialism focuses on the literature produced by people
who were colonies of Britain imperial powers and literature of the decolonized nations that took
part in the contemporary post colonial arrangements with their former mother nations. However,
the post colonial criticism explores the literature written by the colonizers as well as the
colonized, where the pivotal point is the portraits of the colonized individuals as well as their
lives as imperial subjects.

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Ashcroft, B., Griffiths, G. and Tiffin, H., 2013. Post-colonial studies: The key concepts.
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Childs, P. and Williams, P., 2014. Introduction to post-colonial theory. Routledge.
Huggan, G. and Tiffin, H., 2015. Postcolonial ecocriticism: Literature, animals, environment.
Routledge.
Loomba, A., 2015. Colonialism/postcolonialism. Routledge.
Madsen, D.L., 2003. Beyond the borders: American literature and post-colonial theory.
Msiska, M.H., 2010. Post-colonial theory.
Wallace, J.A., 2002. ‘The child’in post-colonial theory. De-scribing empire: post-colonialism
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Young, R.J., 2012. Postcolonial remains. New Literary History, 43(1), pp.19-42.