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Introduction to colonialism module

History of Culture LectureFriday, April 3Maryam Arain

+Why does history matter?

What happens in the present, and what will happen in the future, is largely governed by what happened in the past.

History shows us how cultures interact, how cultures change, and how cultures we experience and embody came to be

+Why does colonialism matter?Biopolitics- body politics

Obsession with skin whitenessGender binary and gender norms

Use and power of English language

Ethnic differences

Class structure and capitalism

Desire to move abroad; growth of transnational and immigrant identities

The knowledge we consume- the theories we study; e.g. semiotics – Saussure

+Colonialism versus Imperialism Imperialism is IDEA-DRIVEN control over another

part of the world- through politics, economics or culture

Colonialism is the rule of one country over another, e.g. Britain India, Belgium in the Congo, Japan in Korea, France in Algeria, US in Philippines US in Iraq? Israel in Palestine?

POWER IS ALWAYS AT PLAY

Domination of the Other.

+What is colonialism?

Violent roots: latin ‘colonia’ meant settlement of Roman citizens in newly conquered territory

English ‘colony’ simply meant farm, rural, settled or country estate before late 18th century

(noun) the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically

“the establishment, exploitation, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory from another territory. It is a set of unequal relations between the colonial power and the colony, often between the colonists and the indigenous population.”

+What is Cultural Imperialism?

The practice of promoting and imposing a culture, usually of politically powerful nations over less potent societies Forced acculturation of a subject population OR Voluntary embracing of a foreign culture by individuals with

free will

The extent is not easily measurable

Cultural legacy of colonialism

Production of knowledge and representations of the ‘Other’

What are some examples of concepts, products and political beliefs that have

spread through forces of cultural imperialism?

+Spread of European colonialismMotives: Economic: resource-poor countries seek resources elsewhere

(“resource curse”)

Moral/religious: ‘civilizing mission’ “White Man’s Burden” Rudyard Kipling (1899) – racialized

morality “half devil and half child” “the blame of those ye better,/ the hate of those ye guard”

Key moments:

1402: Spanish Empire begins with invasion of Canary Islands

1492: “Discovery” of the Americas; expeditions increase

1830: Start of French conquest of Algeria

1885: Treaty of Berlin

1885-1910: Scramble for Africa

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Source: http://courses.nus.edu.sg/course/ellpatke/EN4880B/EN4880B%20Index2010.htm

World Empires in 1914

+Types of colonial rule

Chartered companies: businesses take land and resources with purely economic motives, little/no administration

Direct rule: establish a home base in a claimed territory- transplant language, culture & system of government- undermining of traditional institutions- assimilation

Indirect rule: laws made by colonial powers but enforced by locals; locals used as intermediaries- collaboration

Settler colonies: Europeans moved to the new region, expropriated land, and forced locals to move

What type of rule did the British have in India?

+Effects of colonialism

India was the world's largest economy for the majority of the 1,700 years before the entrenchment of the British East India Company. (Angus Maddison, Cambridge University economic historian)

"When the British came, there was, throughout India, a system of communal schools managed by village communities. The agents of the East India Company destroyed these village communities. " (William Durant, American historian)

Under British rule, India suffered more famines in mere decades than during the preceding 1,000 years.

Abhaey Singh, “The Greatest Cover-up in History?”, Huffington Post UK, 8 Aug 2013.

+How colonialism affects our identities and culture?

Our NATIONAL identities spring from BORDERS that were created under COLONIAL REGIMES Durand Line (1893)- between Pakistan and Afghanistan – cuts

through Pashtun tribal areas

Administration and policies that were set up still exist today Frontiers Crimes Regulation – set of laws in FATA states that denies

residents the right to appeal, the right to legal representation and the right to present evidence Murderous Outrages Regulation (1901)

English-language learning Sharia law CODIFIED by British

Inferiority complexes and internalized racism: “the internalization by people of racist attitudes towards members of their own ethnic group, including themselves”

+Disrupting some binaries

“First World” versus “Third World” Origins of the terms: “Second World”

What’s wrong with using “West” and “East”? “Global south”, “global north”

Distinction is not geographical but socio-economic and political

Global north controls 4/5 of income earned WORLDWIDE

Global north owns 90% of manufacturing industries WORLDWIDE

Global south is home to 3/4 of the world’s population Global south provides raw materials