POST COLONIAL LITERATURE Archives

Postcolonial Literature: An Introduction

September 26, 2025October 1, 2025 Dr Aswathy Aravindakshan 6 Comments

Reading Time: 3 minutesPostcolonial literature explores the cultural, social, and political impacts of colonialism and its aftermath on formerly colonised countries and peoples. Colonialism and Colony Colonialism refers to the period in which countries, especially European countries, took control of lands and peoples for power and wealth, beginning in the 15th century and lasting nearly 500 years until…

AMERICAN LITERATURE, KERALA UNIVERSITY SYLLABUS - PG, KERALA UNIVERSITY SYLLABUS - UG, POST COLONIAL LITERATURE

What Is Commonwealth Literature and Its Significance?

December 1, 2024October 1, 2025 Dr Aswathy Aravindakshan No Comments

Reading Time: 3 minutesCommonwealth literature is a blanket term for the ‘literatures’ of post-colonial nations. It mainly includes literature from regions once colonised by Britain, such as Africa, Asia, North America, and the Caribbean. Even though post-colonial writers write in English, writers from Britain do not fall under this category. Ironically, the language of Britain is central to…

POST COLONIAL LITERATURE

Analysis of ‘The Danger of a Single Story’ by Adichie

November 19, 2024July 3, 2026 Dr Aswathy Aravindakshan 2 Comments

Reading Time: 10 minutesINTRODUCTION Adichie begins the talk by stating that she is a storyteller and wishes to share a few personal stories, which she refers to as ‘the danger of a single story’. ‘THE SINGLE STORY’ OF WHAT BOOKS ARE Adichie grew up on a university campus in eastern Nigeria. Her mother says she started reading at…

AFRICAN LITERATURE, POST COLONIAL LITERATURE, WOMEN'S WRITING

‘The Language of African Literature’ Spiritual Subjugation and Language

October 20, 2024July 3, 2026 Dr Aswathy Aravindakshan 7 Comments

Reading Time: 3 minutesThe Language of African Literature is an excerpt from Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature (1986) by Ngugi, which urges African writers to write in their native languages rather than in English.The above expression is the crux of the essay. The essay begins by describing a conference of African writers who used English as a…

AFRICAN LITERATURE, KERALA UNIVERSITY SYLLABUS - UG, POST COLONIAL LITERATURE

Urging African Writers to Write in their Native Language – NGUGI WA THIONGO

October 20, 2024July 3, 2026 Dr Aswathy Aravindakshan 6 Comments

Reading Time: 2 minutes WORKS CITED Gikandi, Simon. Ngugi wa Thiong’o. Cambridge University Press, 2000. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature. Heinemann, 1986. Williams, Patrick. Ngugi wa Thiong’o: Contemporary World Writers. Manchester University Press, 1999. Dr Aswathy AravindakshanDr Aswathy Aravindakshan is a teacher, bilingual…

AFRICAN LITERATURE, KERALA UNIVERSITY SYLLABUS - UG, POST COLONIAL LITERATURE

When We Reject ‘The Single Story,’ We Embrace Diversity

October 20, 2024July 3, 2026 Dr Aswathy Aravindakshan 6 Comments

Reading Time: 3 minutes Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. https://www.chimamanda.com/ Adichie, Chimamanda Ngozi. “The Danger of a Single Story.” James Clear, 2009, jamesclear.com/great-speeches/the-danger-of-a-single-story-by-chimamanda-ngozi-adichie. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Chimamanda-Ngozi-Adichie The Danger of a Single Story. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Ted Talks. TEDGlobal2009 https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_storlanguage=en The Danger of a Single Story. Transcript. …

AFRICAN LITERATURE, KERALA UNIVERSITY SYLLABUS - UG, POST COLONIAL LITERATURE, WOMEN'S WRITING

Adichie: Discussing the Challenges of Balancing Two Opposite Cultures

October 20, 2024July 3, 2026 Dr Aswathy Aravindakshan 4 Comments

Reading Time: 2 minutes Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, born on September 15, 1977, in Enugu, Nigeria, grew up in a nurturing academic environment with her parents deeply involved in the University of Nigeria. Her father was a professor of statistics, and her mother was the university’s first female registrar. Her family lived on the university campus, in a house…

AFRICAN LITERATURE, KERALA UNIVERSITY SYLLABUS - UG, POST COLONIAL LITERATURE, WOMEN'S WRITING