Week 1- Charting the Aftermath -Sugirtharajah

Sugirtharajah’s article “Charting the Aftermath” was an informative (although somewhat drawn out) look at what academics and scholars mean by the terms colonial, postcolonial, and neo-colonial. Sugirtharajah does a great job of using concrete examples to highlight what postcolonial thought is, its patron saints (Said for example), and how it attempts to critique rather than analyze. The article was intriguing in this format, as it clearly lays out the goals and benefits of postcolonial thought. It also finishes strong with a good critique of postcolonial studies and what can be misused and muddled amidst scholarly diatribe. The downfall of this overview of postcolonial studies came in the final 1/3 of the article in which Sugirtharajah attempts to explain the issues concerning whether or not America is colonial, postcolonial, or neo-colonial. Although thorough, this section was overly wordy, presumptive, and confusing.