Postcolonial theory: Paul Gilroy

Question 1

Summary

Answer 1

Decline of British empire led to media and hegemony being cloaked in “postcolonial melancholy”
Can still see the effects of colonialism due to ethnic minorities being marginalised
Binary of us VS them

Question 2

Civilisation

Answer 2

Teaching them how to behave
Spreading ideologies
Referring to colonised people as “savages” or “barbaric”
Inferior
Mistreatment

Question 3

Postcolonial melancholia

Answer 3

Deep rooted shame felt as a result of the loss of the British empire
Affected through media nostalgia
Widespread anxiety surrounding British identity

Question 4

Currencies of colonialism

Answer 4

Legacies of colonialism, ideologies, practices and structures impact modern cultural, social and political life
Racial hierarchies
Economic inequalities
Cultural representations

Question 5

Albionic representation

Answer 5

Representations of people from former British colonies began to form a sense of “otherness” to restore Britain’s social superiority
Albionic nostalgia refers to the representations of “Englishness”