The Structure of Colony Culture

The Colony

Being a former colony changes the culture of the colonized. They internalize the subservient role and even after being independent for a generation that pattern is reproduced. This lens impacts how the people will see themselves and is also related to the lens through which the former colonizers will view the people. 

Kincaid

In Kincaid's A Small Place, she demonstrates this internalization by bringing attention to how the people of Antigua view their lives as not their own but as an extension of British and American lives. Their education system is based upon the British system and so they only way to discuss their lives are in the language of the colonizer and with the view of the colony ever present.

This results in a cultural admiration of the colonizer and a discounting of any native traditions. The admiration for one that oppressed leads to reproduction of those patterns of oppression when liberated. This is often seen in corruption in the new government. The new government will turn upon their own people and continue the systems of oppression and looting the country to enrich themselves. 

Grewal and Kaplan

Grewal and Kaplan discuss the nationalism that is linked with feminism. This connection will also serve to maintain the oppressor and oppressed relationship.

This raises a question in my eyes in how does one approach the issue of addressing issues in developing economies. It is one thing to know that such a lens will color your perception but another to get past that while trying to find a way to move to a more inclusive world.