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Postcolonial Theory and the Undergraduate Classroom: Teaching “The Red Convertible”

Postcolonial Theory and the Undergraduate Classroom: Teaching “The Red Convertible” Fr om the Classr oom Postcolonial Theory and the Undergraduate Classroom: Teaching “The Red Convertible” Kristin Czarnecki The language of literary theory often appears too technical for the undergrad- uate classroom, its ideas too abstruse for students grappling with the com- plexities of the literature itself. Yet theory is crucial to understanding litera- ture’s historical and cultural significance, as well as its perpetuation of, or resistance to, conventional notions of class, race, and gender. Postcolonial theory interrogates such issues particularly well by acknowledging that throughout history white Western culture and values have been imposed on people of color, most viciously in the colonization of Africa, India, and Native America. Postcolonial theory, then, examines how colonized people resist their colonization, either by rejecting it outright or, more often, by manipulat- ing the colonizer under the guise of submission. Yoking together issues of empire, ethnicity, and cultural production, postcolonial theory compels read- ers to question what is valued in different cultures and why. Studying the Native American writer Louise Erdrich’s (1984) short story “The Red Con- vertible” through postcolonial theory, for instance, fosters students’ apprecia- tion of pertinent issues regarding marginalized groups in American society. “The Red Convertible” concerns two Chippewa http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Pedagogy Duke University Press

Postcolonial Theory and the Undergraduate Classroom: Teaching “The Red Convertible”

Czarnecki, Kristin
Pedagogy , Volume 2 (1) – Jan 1, 2002
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References (8)

Copyright
© 2002 Duke University Press
ISSN
1531-4200
eISSN
1533-6255
DOI
10.1215/15314200-2-1-109
Publisher site
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Abstract

Fr om the Classr oom Postcolonial Theory and the Undergraduate Classroom: Teaching “The Red Convertible” Kristin Czarnecki The language of literary theory often appears too technical for the undergrad- uate classroom, its ideas too abstruse for students grappling with the com- plexities of the literature itself. Yet theory is crucial to understanding litera- ture’s historical and cultural significance, as well as its perpetuation of, or resistance to, conventional notions of class, race, and gender. Postcolonial theory interrogates such issues particularly well by acknowledging that throughout history white Western culture and values have been imposed on people of color, most viciously in the colonization of Africa, India, and Native America. Postcolonial theory, then, examines how colonized people resist their colonization, either by rejecting it outright or, more often, by manipulat- ing the colonizer under the guise of submission. Yoking together issues of empire, ethnicity, and cultural production, postcolonial theory compels read- ers to question what is valued in different cultures and why. Studying the Native American writer Louise Erdrich’s (1984) short story “The Red Con- vertible” through postcolonial theory, for instance, fosters students’ apprecia- tion of pertinent issues regarding marginalized groups in American society. “The Red Convertible” concerns two Chippewa

Journal

Pedagogy – Duke University Press

Published: Jan 1, 2002

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