Abstract
This foreword begins with a survey of the field of postcolonial studies, from
its points of departure to its current situation and future directions. We 10
suggest that the field has long sought to problematize borders, particularly
those that separate academic disciplines. The foreword also highlights the
material consequences of border crossing for people of colour and other
'Others', examining Caryl Phillips’ case study of the migrant David Oluwale.
Oluwale’s abhorrent treatment in Leeds necessitates discussion of the 15
burgeoning new current of postcolonial cities research, to which this special
issue adds interdisciplinary perspectives. To explore whether or not global
and postcolonial cities are actually synonymous, we return to the origins of
postcolonial studies to suggest that the postcolonial city has a longer
provenance than the global, and retains the double meaning of ‘post’ as 20
signalling both a coming after and a continuation. We go on to argue that
the special issue demonstrates that postcolonial cities exclude even as they
embrace, and produce both internal and external marginality. The foreword
concludes by adumbrating potential problems with the special issue’s topic:
its neglect of economics in favour of culture, its overlooking of the 25
postcolonial rural, and as terminology not coming from within but without.
its points of departure to its current situation and future directions. We 10
suggest that the field has long sought to problematize borders, particularly
those that separate academic disciplines. The foreword also highlights the
material consequences of border crossing for people of colour and other
'Others', examining Caryl Phillips’ case study of the migrant David Oluwale.
Oluwale’s abhorrent treatment in Leeds necessitates discussion of the 15
burgeoning new current of postcolonial cities research, to which this special
issue adds interdisciplinary perspectives. To explore whether or not global
and postcolonial cities are actually synonymous, we return to the origins of
postcolonial studies to suggest that the postcolonial city has a longer
provenance than the global, and retains the double meaning of ‘post’ as 20
signalling both a coming after and a continuation. We go on to argue that
the special issue demonstrates that postcolonial cities exclude even as they
embrace, and produce both internal and external marginality. The foreword
concludes by adumbrating potential problems with the special issue’s topic:
its neglect of economics in favour of culture, its overlooking of the 25
postcolonial rural, and as terminology not coming from within but without.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 783-788 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Interventions: International Journal of Postcolonial Studies |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Early online date | 15 Jan 2015 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2015 |