1. Postcolonialism can be best described as the study of the global effects of European colonization. Specifically, this branch of cultural studies seeks to analyze cultures whose traditional language, laws, religion, and literature have been affected by domination from Europe. The roots of postcolonial historical analysis can be found in the study of colonialism. Colonialism is simply defined as the subjugation of one culture by the hands of another. However, this forced subjugation not only involves military conquest, but also extends to the imposition of the dominant power’s values and customs upon the conquered peoples. Interest in postcolonialism dates back to the 1950’s when Alfred Sauvy coined the term “third world” to refer to underdeveloped nations in Africa and South America. This interest would lead to initial studies being conducted in the decades to follow – although the actual term “postcolonial” would not be coined until the late 1980’s. These studies would incorporate several theories (e.g. Marxism and feminism) and would make inroads into a diverse set of fields (e.g. political science, sociology, psychology, etc.).
Beginning with the work Orientalism by Edward Said, writers would begin to ask questions regarding subjects which were impacted by the process of colonization such as language, oppression, cultural identity, race, and education. In his work, Said brings to the forefront the concept of the “other.” This construct is used by the colonial power in order to depict those unlike themselves as being indecent or inferior. Therefore, the colonial power is able to differentiate themselves (by means of culture, race, religious background, etc.) from the people that they wish to militarily or economically subjugate in order to justify their actions.
Finally, with respect to analyzing the literature of a subjugated people literature through a postcolonial perspective, one must take into account two fundamental ideas: the concept of the double conscious (the fact that the literature of a colonized or subjugated people views the world through the contrasting perspectives of both the colonizer and the colonized) and the concept of unhomeliness (which is the permanent sense of being culturally displaced, of being caught between two cultures and not feeling “at home” in either).
2. En el cuento “La llegada de Colón,” el autor cubano, Alejo Carpentier, recuenta la historia del descubrimiento de América y del comienzo de la conquista a través de los ojos del líder de la expedición, Cristóbal Colon. Al tomar esta perspectiva, el autor busca a destacar las ideologías y las creencias de los españoles los que motivaron su tratamiento y explotación de las poblaciones indígenas en el Mundo Nuevo. Se puede argumentar, entonces, que mediante contando la historia de este punto de vista, el autor busca a destacar las actitudes de eurocentrismo y superioridad de los exploradores españoles, y muestra cómo estas creencias conducen a la identificación la gente de América Latina como un salvaje “otro,” quien era intrínsecamente inferior. En la trama del cuento, el impacto de la colonización es más evidente en la propagación de la lengua española a las poblaciones indígenas, en la superioridad percibida de la cultura europea, y en la supremacía de la Iglesia Católica – en la que la pertenencia fue fundamental para ser un miembro adecuado de la sociedad. Mediante un análisis poscolonial, es posible ver el impacto duradero que la colonización de España dejaría en la sociedad latinoamericana durante y después de la época colonial.