Modernism after Postcolonialism: Toward a Nonterritorial Comparative Literature

Modernism after Postcolonialism is a book that challenges the trend in global modernist studies which still privileges European and Anglophone texts. It undertakes a comparative Anglophone-Francophone study, invoking theoretical frameworks from Gayatri Spivak, Édouard Glissant, Françoise Vergès, Michel-Rolph Trouillot, and Dipesh Chakrabarty. The book treats these poetics as models for a creolist critical method of reading, one that searches out unpredictable, mutually generative textual relations obscured by geographic and linguistic divides.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 24 November 2020
Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press

Modernism after Postcolonialism is a groundbreaking work that challenges the prevailing trend in global modernist studies, which continues to privilege European and Anglophone texts. Mara de Gennaro's book offers a comparative Anglophone-Francophone study, drawing upon theoretical frameworks from a diverse range of scholars, including Gayatri Spivak, Édouard Glissant, Françoise Vergès, Michel-Rolph Trouillot, and Dipesh Chakrabarty. Through this comparative lens, de Gennaro examines transnational poetics of comparison that challenge the practices of colonialist, racist, and ethno-nationalist discourses.

In each chapter, de Gennaro pairs a canonical English-language modernist writer with a postcolonial writer, interpreting major works of prewar and interwar modernism in light of postcolonial and Francophone literature, cultural theory, and historiography. By doing so, she highlights the shift towards comparative forms marked by irresolution and a wavering sense of authority in earlier Atlantic modernist texts, while also observing more overt manifestations of this trend in later Caribbean and postcolonial texts.

The rise of world literature and global modernist studies underscores the importance of examining how comparative forms can alert us to unspoken and misrecognized relations while also grappling with the challenges of representing the Other. Modernism after Postcolonialism makes a significant contribution to this discourse by offering a rich and nuanced exploration of the complexities of comparative literary analysis.

In conclusion, Modernism after Postcolonialism is a must-read for scholars and students interested in modernism, postcolonialism, comparative literature, and cultural studies. It provides a valuable framework for understanding the complexities of literary modernism in a global context and offers insightful interpretations of key works of modernism in light of postcolonial and Francophone literature.

Weight: 346g
Dimension: 152 x 229 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781421439471