Articles on Postcolonial Studies

This blog engages with the reflective activities on Postcolonial Studies, focusing on two key works by Ania Loomba: Globalization and the Future of Postcolonial Studies and Future of Postcolonial Studies. Both texts are included in our course curriculum under the guidance of Dr. Dilip Barad Sir. 

Globalization and Postcolonial Identities: Capital, Culture, and the Politics of Representation    

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Introduction

The article Globalization and the Future of Postcolonial Studies (2022) explores how globalization, especially after the 9/11 phenomenon, reshapes the terrain of postcolonial thought. It situates the rise of the “New American Empire,” the Global War on Terror, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution as key forces that complicate the study of domination, resistance, and identity in today’s world Globalization, once seen as a promise of interconnectedness, is revealed as deeply uneven, marked by corporate power, economic inequality, and cultural homogenization. For postcolonial studies, this creates both challenges and opportunities: how do formerly colonized societies negotiate identities in a global capitalist order that erases margins and centers yet reintroduces old hierarchies in new forms?
This essay examines how globalization reshapes postcolonial identities, particularly through the cultural and economic dimensions of global capitalism. It also connects the discussion with literary and cinematic narratives that depict the dilemmas of postcolonial identity in a globalized world.

Globalization and the Transformation of Postcolonial Frameworks

The article emphasizes that globalization cannot be understood through traditional binaries such as “center and margin.” Instead, it creates networks of flows—of capital, labor, and culture—that destabilize borders Postcolonial studies, which once critiqued European imperialism, must now confront new imperial structures embodied in what Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri call Empire—a decentered but powerful system that incorporates the globe into expanding capitalist frontiers. Unlike older colonial empires, this order thrives on hybrid identities and flexible hierarchies, yet it preserves domination in more elusive ways.
The economic face of globalization, analyzed by critics such as Joseph Stiglitz and P. Sainath, exposes its contradictions. Market fundamentalism, imposed by institutions like the IMF and World Bank, often devastates developing societies, replacing colonial exploitation with neoliberal dependency For postcolonial nations, this undermines sovereignty while reinforcing economic hierarchies.
Culturally, globalization flattens differences, privileging Western consumerism. Thomas Friedman’s notion of a “Flat World” highlights interconnection, but critics like Stiglitz counter that globalization is “spiky,” concentrating wealth and power in select regions while deepening inequality elsewhere. For postcolonial societies, this creates the paradox of visibility and erasure—identities are globalized through media, yet homogenized into commodified stereotypes.

Global Capitalism and Cultural/Economic Dimensions of Postcolonial Societies

Global capitalism influences postcolonial societies in at least two major ways:

Economic Dependency and Inequality

Developing nations often become suppliers within global supply chains but remain excluded from equitable wealth distribution. As critics note, globalization frequently “undermines emerging democracies” and entrenches poverty

The promise of global participation translates into exploitative labor, with multinational corporations benefiting while local communities suffer ecological and social costs.

Cultural Commodification and Identity Crises

Postcolonial identities are reshaped under the dominance of Western cultural industries. Global media promotes uniform lifestyles, marginalizing indigenous traditions. Yet, paradoxically, it also opens avenues for resistance by amplifying hybrid cultural expressions.

Identities become fragmented: a young professional in Mumbai or Lagos may embrace global consumer culture while remaining tied to traditional practices, navigating contradictory pressures of authenticity and modernity.

This dual impact underscores the complexity of postcolonial existence in the age of globalization: liberation from colonial rule has not freed societies from new imperial entanglements.

Postcolonial Identities in Film and Literature

The dilemmas outlined in the article resonate strongly in postcolonial cultural productions.

Film: The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012, dir. Mira Nair)

This film, adapted from Mohsin Hamid’s novel, exemplifies how globalization intersects with postcolonial identity. The protagonist Changez, a Pakistani working in a U.S. corporate firm, thrives in the world of global capitalism until the 9/11 attacks mark him as an outsider. His identity shifts from celebrated global professional to racialized suspect, reflecting how global flows are haunted by domination and suspicion. The film dramatizes how the “flat world” collapses under the weight of cultural prejudice and political violence.

Literature: Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things (1997)

Though predating the 9/11 context, Roy’s novel highlights how neoliberal capitalism reshapes Kerala’s local economy and social hierarchies. Transnational tourism and global consumer culture intrude upon traditional lives, reinforcing caste and class inequalities under a modern guise. Roy’s work anticipates the claim that globalization creates new forms of inequality even as it promises openness.

Film: Slumdog Millionaire (2008, dir. Danny Boyle)

Often criticized for commodifying poverty, the film illustrates how postcolonial societies are marketed through global cinema. It showcases both the aspirational possibilities of global connectivity and the exploitation of cultural stereotypes for Western audiences. This tension mirrors the contradictions of globalization that critics like P. Sainath highlight.

Broader Implications for Postcolonial Thought

The article suggests that postcolonial studies must adapt to Globalization 4.0—the age of digital technologies, AI, and biotechnologies. These shifts demand new frameworks that go beyond colonial binaries to address how technology-driven capitalism reconfigures identities and inequalities.

For postcolonial thought today, this means:

Interrogating New Empires: Not only state-driven imperialism (such as the U.S. “War on Terror”) but also corporate empires like Google, Amazon, or Meta that shape cultural production and surveillance.
Re-examining Resistance: Resistance now operates through digital activism, diasporic literature, and hybrid cultural forms that challenge homogenization.

Maintaining Critical Dissent: As Ania Loomba reminds us, universities and scholars must remain sites of critique against both past and ongoing empires. Postcolonial studies becomes even more vital in exposing how globalization reproduces inequalities while claiming universality.

Conclusion

Globalization reshapes postcolonial identities by intertwining economic dependency with cultural commodification. The promises of global capitalism often mask deeper inequalities, producing fragmented identities caught between empowerment and erasure. Literature and film—from The Reluctant Fundamentalist to Slumdog Millionaire—reveal how postcolonial subjects navigate these contradictions, embodying both the opportunities and perils of global interconnectedness.

In today’s world of Globalization 4.0, postcolonial critique must remain attuned to the intersections of empire, capital, and identity. Far from being outdated, postcolonial studies provides the tools to understand how power continues to operate under new guises. The task, then, is not only to critique globalization’s inequities but also to imagine alternative futures where cultural difference and economic justice are more than commodified ideals.

Globalization and Postcolonial Identities: Fiction as a Mirror of Resistance and Domination

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Introduction

The article Globalization and Fiction: Exploring Postcolonial Critique and Literary Representations (2022) investigates how globalization intersects with literature, using novels such as Don DeLillo’s Cosmopolis, Robert Newman’s The Fountain at the Center of the World, Ian McEwan’s Saturday, Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, and Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger. These works highlight the contradictions of globalization—its promises of connectivity and opportunity alongside its realities of inequality, cultural erasure, and political domination. Drawing also on thinkers like Stiglitz, Chomsky, and P. Sainath, the article argues that fiction provides a unique lens for postcolonial critique, dramatizing how global capitalism reshapes identities and societies.

This blog reflects on how globalization reshapes postcolonial identities, examines its cultural and economic dimensions, and applies these ideas to fictional and cinematic representations that dramatize these challenges.

Globalization and the Crisis of Postcolonial Identity

Globalization complicates traditional postcolonial frameworks of “center” and “margin.” As Hardt and Negri argue in Empire, the new global order is decentered, operating not through fixed boundaries but through networks that engulf the world. This has implications for postcolonial identities: once shaped by opposition to colonial domination, they now must navigate hybrid identities within global systems of capital and culture.
Stiglitz’s critique of “market fundamentalism” reinforces this point. International financial institutions such as the IMF and World Bank enforce neoliberal policies that weaken developing nations and exacerbate inequality. Postcolonial societies, already struggling with colonial legacies, are further destabilized by globalization’s economic hierarchies.
Sainath adds that market fundamentalism is not only economic but also cultural—it spreads across nations like a new “religious fundamentalism,” eroding local values while fueling social unrest. In this way, globalization intensifies the postcolonial identity crisis: communities are simultaneously connected to global flows and alienated by economic and cultural exploitation.

Economic Dimensions: Dependency and Inequality

Global capitalism entrenches dependency in postcolonial societies. Developing countries often become sites of cheap labor and resource extraction for multinational corporations. Fictional representations illustrate these dynamics powerfully:

Robert Newman’s The Fountain at the Center of the World situates its narrative around the 1999 Seattle WTO protests, exposing how corporate globalization exploits Mexican workers, spreads disease, and undermines democratic agency.

Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger portrays the rise of Balram Halwai, whose ascent from chauffeur to entrepreneur in a “globalized India” highlights the corruption, inequality, and violent social mobility that accompany neoliberal reforms. The novel demonstrates how globalization creates winners and losers, reshaping class and caste dynamics under capitalist pressures.

These works confirm the article’s argument: globalization may appear borderless, but it sustains sharp economic hierarchies that reproduce colonial-style dependency.

Cultural Dimensions: Commodification and Resistance

Alongside economics, globalization reshapes culture. Literature shows how identities are commodified and contested within global flows.

Don DeLillo’s Cosmopolis depicts billionaire Eric Packer navigating New York during anti-globalization protests. His limousine becomes a symbol of capitalist excess, while the protests signal the backlash against homogenizing corporate power. Here, fiction highlights the spectacle of resistance and the fragility of global capitalism.

Ian McEwan’s Saturday links the 2003 Iraq War protests in London with the everyday life of neurosurgeon Henry Perowne. By weaving the global into the personal, McEwan dramatizes how geopolitics penetrates intimate spaces, reshaping how individuals in postcolonial and metropolitan contexts experience identity.

Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness expands the cultural critique to India, weaving together stories of marginalized communities affected by development, displacement, and state violence. Roy reveals how globalization intersects with nationalism, militarism, and social injustice.

Through these novels, the cultural dimension of globalization emerges as both homogenizing and resistant. Postcolonial identities are destabilized, but literature gives voice to those excluded or silenced by global capital.

Theoretical Framework and Film Application

The article also emphasizes Klaus Schwab’s concept of Globalization 4.0—a phase defined by the fusion of digital, biological, and physical systems. This technological globalization poses new challenges: ecological crises, inequality, and the dominance of corporations like Google or Amazon. For postcolonial thought, it demands a framework that interrogates both old imperial legacies and new technological empires.

A useful cinematic text to apply this framework is Mira Nair’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012), adapted from Mohsin Hamid’s novel. The film traces Changez, a Pakistani man working in a U.S. corporate environment, whose identity shifts after 9/11. He embodies globalization’s paradox: celebrated as a cosmopolitan professional yet racialized as a suspect when geopolitics intervenes. Applying the article’s framework, Changez’s story reflects how postcolonial subjects are caught in global networks that promise inclusion but reinforce marginalization when crises erupt.

Broader Implications for Postcolonial Thought

Engaging with globalization through postcolonial critique reveals several implications:

Redefinition of Empire: Power today is less territorial and more networked. Postcolonial thought must track not only Western political domination but also corporate, digital, and financial empires.

Resistance and Movements: Literature captures how protests—whether against the WTO, Iraq War, or neoliberal projects—are surface manifestations of deeper struggles. These movements echo anti-colonial struggles but take new global forms.

Identity and Hybridity: Postcolonial identities are increasingly hybrid, shaped by global media, migration, and digital culture. This hybridity offers opportunities for creative resistance but also risks cultural dilution.

Critical Relevance of Fiction: Fiction, by dramatizing lived experience, provides a unique critique of globalization. It bridges the abstract economic debates of thinkers like Stiglitz or Chomsky with the human stories of inequality, aspiration, and resistance.

Conclusion

Globalization reshapes postcolonial identities through both economic dependency and cultural commodification. As the article highlights, fiction becomes a crucial site where these transformations are explored, resisted, and reimagined. Novels such as Cosmopolis, The Fountain at the Center of the World, Saturday, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, and The White Tiger illustrate how global capitalism influences everyday life, often reinforcing inequalities while sparking resistance.

Applied to film, The Reluctant Fundamentalist further shows how globalization creates fractured identities, revealing the instability of belonging in a world structured by capital and suspicion. The broader implication is clear: postcolonial studies remains vital for interrogating globalization’s promises and perils. It challenges us to imagine futures where cultural difference and social justice are not subsumed under the logic of the market but sustained as part of a more equitable global order.