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Colonialism Unit

The titles in this study guide collection focus on the global effects of colonialism and imperialism. Read on to discover insights, analyses, and discussion topics suitable for an interdisciplinarity unit that encompasses literature, history, anthropology, theology, and political science.

Publication year 1963Genre Play, FictionThemes Society: ColonialismTags Play: Postcolonial, Allegory / Fable / Parable, History: African , Politics / Government, African Literature, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Written and first performed in 1960 as part of the national celebrations of Nigeria’s independence from Britain, A Dance of the Forests features a unique combination of classically European dramatic elements and traditional Yoruba masquerade traditions which make the play resistant to both staging and traditional Western criticism. Since 1960, few attempts have been made to perform the play, due to its complexity and ambiguity. A Dance of the Forests presents an allegorical criticism of... Read A Dance of the Forests Summary


Publication year 2020Genre Novel, FictionThemes Society: Colonialism, Relationships: Marriage, Society: War, Identity: Femininity, Identity: RaceTags Historical Fiction, Military / War, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Race / Racism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence

Publication year 1961Genre Novel, FictionThemes Relationships: Family, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Fear, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Emotions/Behavior: Revenge, Life/Time: Birth, Identity: Mental Health, Life/Time: Aging, Life/Time: The Past, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Life/Time: Midlife, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Marriage, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Fate, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Trust & Doubt, Society: Class, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community, Self Discovery, Values/Ideas: Literature, Society: EconomicsTags Historical Fiction, Auto/Biographical Fiction, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Poverty, Finance / Money / Wealth, Depression / Suicide, Class, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Indian Literature

A House for Mr. Biswas is a 1961 historical fiction novel by V. S. Naipaul. The story takes a postcolonial perspective of the life of a Hindu Indian man in British-owned and occupied Trinidad. Now regarded as one of Naipaul's most significant novels, A House for Mr. Biswas has won numerous awards and has been adapted as a musical, a radio drama, and a television show. This guide is written using an eBook version of... Read A House for Mr. Biswas Summary


Publication year 2019Genre Autobiography / Memoir, NonfictionThemes Identity: Race, Identity: Gender, Society: ColonialismTags Race / Racism, Social Justice, Mental Illness, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Publication year 2014Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Society: Nation, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: War, Values/Ideas: Equality, Society: Education, Identity: Race, Life/Time: The Past, Life/Time: The Future, Society: Community, Natural World: Place, Society: ColonialismTags History: U.S., Race / Racism, Social Justice, Politics / Government, Education, Military / War, Anthropology, Colonial America, Class, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Publication year 2019Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Equality, Society: ColonialismTags History: U.S., Race / Racism, Social Justice, Military / War, American Revolution, Colonial America, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People is a 2019 adaptation of Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s 2015 nonfiction book. Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese adapted the material for middle-grade audiences. The original publication received the American Book Award, and this version is a 2020 American Indian Youth Literature Young Adult Honor Book with recognition from the National Council for the Social Studies and the Children’s Book Council. This book tells the perspective of... Read An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People Summary


Publication year 1897Genre Short Story, FictionThemes Society: Colonialism, Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Order & Chaos, Values/Ideas: Good & EvilTags Classic Fiction, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Depression / Suicide, Existentialism

In “An Outpost of Progress,” Joseph Conrad (1857-1924), a Ukrainian-born Polish-British novelist and short story writer, presents a disturbing psychological case study centered on the struggle between good and evil in the hearts and souls of two white traders dispatched to a remote corner of Africa to oversee a trading station along the Congo River. The story probes how easily the heart can lose its moral and ethical bearings amid the oppressive emptiness of the... Read An Outpost Of Progress Summary


Publication year 1987Genre Play, FictionTags Play: Drama, Play: Postcolonial, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Published in 1970, Ama Ata Aidoo’s play Anowa tells the gripping story of its title character, who serves as an allegory for Africa itself. No stranger to Africa’s political and societal turmoil, Aidoo, a Ghanaian playwright, uses Anowa to interrogate the relationships between men and women, husbands and wives, women and motherhood, mothers and daughters, society and the individuals comprising it, and the future encroaching on ancient traditions.  Anowa opens in the 1870s in the Ghanaian... Read Anowa Summary


Publication year 2022Genre Novel, FictionThemes Society: Colonialism, Identity: Race, Identity: Language, Relationships: FriendshipTags Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Race / Racism, Gender / Feminism

Publication year 1952Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Identity: RaceTags Sociology, Existentialism, Race / Racism, Afro-Caribbean Literature, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Frantz Fanon's Black Skin, White Masks is a psychological study of colonialism. According to Fanon, the encounter between white European colonizers and black slaves and their descendants creates a unique social and psychological situation with a characteristic set of psychopathologies. Black Skin, White Masks analyzes these psychopathologies, traces their roots in the colonial encounter, and suggests how healing might become possible.Fanon works within a broadly existentialist and phenomenological framework, his project is psychoanalytic, and he... Read Black Skin, White Masks Summary


Publication year 1993Genre Short Story, FictionThemes Identity: Race, Society: Colonialism, Society: Nation, Relationships: FamilyTags Satire, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Publication year 2001Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: Colonialism, Society: Class, Values/Ideas: Equality, Society: Politics & Government, Society: NationTags History: World, Latin American Literature, Arts / Culture, Military / War, Politics / Government, History: European, Class, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Born in Blood and Fire: A Concise History of Latin America, 4th Edition, by John Charles Chasteen was published in 2016. The first edition was printed in 2001. Chasteen works as an author, translator, and professor of Latin American history and culture. He teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Some of his other notable works are Americanos: The Struggle for Latin American Independence, National Rhythms, African Roots: The Deep History of... Read Born in Blood and Fire Summary


Publication year 1996Genre Novel, FictionThemes Identity: Sexuality, Identity: Gender, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Society: ColonialismTags Colonialism / Postcolonialism, LGBTQ, Trauma / Abuse / Violence

Cereus Blooms at Night (1996) is the first novel-length work of fiction written by Shani Mootoo, a Canadian author who was born in Ireland and grew up on the island nation of Trinidad. The novel was originally published in Canada and received critical acclaim there and internationally. It was a finalist for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize and the Giller Prize and was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize. Mootoo is also a visual artist... Read Cereus Blooms At Night Summary


Publication year 1542Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: Colonialism, Society: War, Society: Nation, Identity: Race, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Values/Ideas: Safety & Danger, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Power & GreedTags History: World, Latin American Literature, Christian literature, Creative Nonfiction, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Race / Racism, Renaissance

The Chronicle of the Narváez Expedition by Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca was originally written in 1542, with a reprint in 1555. The chronicle follows Cabeza de Vaca’s memories of his survival after the expedition (led by Pánfilo de Narváez) failed and broke apart, and his subsequent peregrinations through the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. His chronicle stands as an important primary document of the age of the conquistadores. Of particular importance are Cabeza... Read Chronicle of the Narvaez Expedition Summary


Publication year 1980Genre Novel, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Guilt, Identity: Gender, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Siblings, Society: ColonialismTags Historical Fiction, Indian Literature, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Relationships

Clear Light of Day (1980) is Anita Desai’s sixth and—according to the author—most autobiographical novel. This novel was the first of three of Desai’s books to be nominated for the prestigious Booker Prize. Like other books in her corpus, such as Cry, the Peacock (1963) and Where Shall We Go This Summer? (1975), it deals with gender struggles in a modernizing India. Set against the backdrop of Indian Independence and Partition, it explores the lives... Read Clear Light of Day Summary


Publication year 2018Genre Novel, FictionThemes Identity: Gender, Identity: Sexuality, Society: Class, Society: Colonialism, Society: CommunityTags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, LGBTQ, Class, Incarceration, Gender / Feminism, Love / Sexuality, Social Justice, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Publication year 1988Genre Novel, FictionTags Historical Fiction, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Bapsi Sidhwa’s historical fiction novel Cracking India, first published in India in 1988 as Ice-Candy-Man, was translated into English under its current title in 1991. The 1947 partition of India that created the majority-Muslim country of Pakistan shapes the events of the novel. The novel begins in 1942, when India was an English colony. When Britain declared war on behalf of India during World War II, the move galvanized long-standing Indian independence movements until India... Read Cracking India Summary


Publication year 1993Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: Colonialism, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Values/Ideas: LiteratureTags Colonialism / Postcolonialism, History: World, Philosophy, Politics / Government, History: European, History: Middle Eastern, History: Asian

Culture and Imperialism is a nonfiction book published in 1993 by the Palestinian American author and academic Edward Said. Originating from a series of lectures that Said delivered in 1985 and 1986, Culture and Imperialism is an expansion of the ideas set out in his groundbreaking earlier work, Orientalism. Considered one of the founders of the field of post-colonial studies, Said looks at how the formerly colonized margins influence the metropolitan centers, and vice versa... Read Culture and Imperialism Summary


Publication year 1953Genre Short Story, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Society: Education, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & PrideTags African Literature, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Recipient of the Man Booker International Prize in 2007 for his literary career, Nigerian writer and critic Chinua Achebe is known as the “Father of Modern African Literature.” His short story “Dead Men’s Path” raises issues central to many works of postcolonial writing such as modernity versus tradition, urban versus rural life, and Christianity versus Indigenous religion, as well as the overall effects of European colonization on life in his native Nigeria. Originally published in... Read Dead Men’s Path Summary


Publication year 1975Genre Play, FictionThemes Society: Colonialism, Life/Time: Mortality & Death, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Emotions/Behavior: Regret, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Daughters & SonsTags Play: Tragedy, Play: Drama, African Literature, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, WWII / World War II

Premiering in 1975, Death and the King’s Horseman is a play written by Nigerian Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka. Soyinka is known for his plays, including A Dance of the Forests (1963) and The Lion and the Jewel (1962). Death and the King’s Horseman is set in Oyo, Nigeria, during World War II and tells the story of Elesin Oba, the titular king’s horseman who must die by ritual suicide after the Yoruba king dies. The colonial government... Read Death and the King's Horseman Summary


Publication year 1980Genre Novel, FictionThemes Society: Politics & Government, Society: Class, Self Discovery, Society: Colonialism, Society: Community, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Values/Ideas: Power & GreedTags African Literature, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Allegory / Fable / Parable

Published in 1980, Devil on the Cross by Kenyan author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o explores themes of Exploitation and Theft Under Capitalism, The Treatment of Women in the Workforce, and The Legacy of Colonialism through its complex, nested narrative and ironic exaggeration. The story centers on the female protagonist Jacinta Warĩĩnga as she leaves her complicated and abusive life behind to return home. On her journey, she experiences self-discovery and newfound autonomy, as well as the... Read Devil on the Cross Summary


Publication year 1955Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: ColonialismTags Philosophy, Afro-Caribbean Literature, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Discourse on Colonialism is an essay written originally in French by Aimé Césaire and published in 1950. This seminal work by Césaire opens with a thesis that Europe currently suffers from two problems. The first problem is the state of the proletariat and colonialism and the second is its moral hypocrisy. Throughout the essay, Césaire elaborates on this thesis by identifying the proletariat as the colonized laborer and the bourgeois as the European academic, scholar... Read Discourse on Colonialism Summary


Publication year 2014Genre Biography, NonfictionThemes Natural World: Animals, Society: CommunityTags WWII / World War II, Animals, History: World, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Military / War, History: Asian

Publication year 1979Genre Poem, FictionThemes Society: Immigration, Identity: RaceTags Immigration / Refugee, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Publication year 1978Genre Short Story, FictionThemes Relationships: Mothers, Society: Colonialism, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Identity: Femininity, Society: CommunityTags Gender / Feminism, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Prose poetry, Afro-Caribbean Literature

Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl” was first published on June 26, 1978 in The New Yorker and was later included in Kincaid’s debut 1983 short story collection, At the Bottom of the River. According to Kincaid, her works, including “Girl,” can be considered autobiographical. Kincaid grew up on the Caribbean island of Antigua and had a strained relationship with her mother before Kincaid moved to New York City. These same cultural and familial contexts are present in... Read Girl Summary


Publication year 1987Genre Short Story, FictionThemes Identity: Gender, Society: Colonialism, Identity: FemininityTags Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Immigration / Refugee, Gender / Feminism, Indian Literature

“Good Advice Is Rarer Than Rubies,” a short story written by Salman Rushdie, was first published in The New Yorker in 1987 and then reprinted in East, West, a collection of Rushdie’s short stories published in 1994. This anthology divides the stories into three sections: “East, “West,” and “East/West.” “Good Advice Is Rarer Than Rubies” can be found in the “East” section. Most of this story takes place in a shantytown next to the British... Read Good Advice is Rarer than Rubies Summary


Publication year 1899Genre Novel, FictionThemes Society: ColonialismTags Classic Fiction, Victorian Period, British Literature, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Heart of Darkness (1899) is a classic novel by Joseph Conrad detailing the story of Marlow, the captain of a steamboat, who travels up the Congo River to find a man named Kurtz. This guide uses the 2003 Barnes & Noble Classic edition.Plot SummaryThe novel is structured as a story Marlow tells his friends onboard a boat on the Thames. As the sun sets, Marlow becomes introspective and begins to reminisce about the time when... Read Heart of Darkness Summary


Publication year 2019Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: Nation, Identity: Race, Society: Colonialism, Values/Ideas: Power & GreedTags History: U.S., Politics / Government, History: World, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Publication year 1919Genre Poem, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Power & GreedTags Grief / Death, Race / Racism, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, African American Literature, Harlem Renaissance

Publication year 2007Genre Poem, FictionThemes Identity: Race, Identity: Indigenous, Emotions/Behavior: Forgiveness, Emotions/Behavior: Grief, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Identity: Language, Life/Time: Childhood & Youth, Society: Colonialism, Values/Ideas: Win & Lose, Values/Ideas: LiteratureTags Lyric Poem, Education, Arts / Culture, Diversity, History: The Americas, Race / Racism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Publication year 1998Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: ColonialismTags Colonialism / Postcolonialism, History: European, History: World

Adam Hochschild’s King Leopold’s Ghost offers a substantial overview of the period from 1895 until 1908 when King Leopold II of Belgium ruled the Congo—or at least the very large territory around the Congo River basin that he claimed as his own. The book also addresses the years leading up to Leopold’s acquisition of the Congo and those following the colony’s transfer to the control of the Belgian government. Though much of the book is devoted... Read King Leopold's Ghost Summary


Publication year 1981Genre Novel, FictionThemes Society: Colonialism, Relationships: FamilyTags Magical Realism, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Poverty, Class, History: World, Religion / Spirituality

Midnight’s Children is a 1981 magical realism novel by British American novelist Salman Rushdie. The story follows Saleem, a child born at the moment of India’s independence who possesses strange powers. The novel won many awards, including the Booker of Bookers Prize, which was awarded to the best all-time winner of the Booker Prize on the award’s 40th anniversary. Midnight’s Children has been adapted for theater, radio, and film. This guide uses the 2006 Vintage... Read Midnight's Children Summary


Publication year 2018Genre Novel, FictionThemes Identity: Language, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Identity: IndigenousTags Horror / Thriller / Suspense Fiction, Science-Fiction / Dystopian Fiction, Depression / Suicide, History: The Americas, Leadership/Organization/Management, Race / Racism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Publication year 2017Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Identity: Race, Society: Colonialism, Society: CommunityTags Social Justice, Race / Racism, Self Help, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, African American Literature

Publication year 1988Genre Novel, FictionThemes Relationships: Family, Society: Colonialism, Life/Time: Coming of AgeTags Historical Fiction, Coming of Age / Bildungsroman, African Literature, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Race / Racism, Gender / Feminism

Nervous Conditions (1988) is a semi-autobiographical literary fiction novel written by Tsitsi Dangarembga, an international author, playwright, filmmaker, and director. The novel is the first in a three-part trilogy and is followed by The Book of Not (2006) and This Mournable Body (2017). Tambudzai, a young girl living with her family on a homestead in Rhodesia, narrates the novel and serves as the primary protagonist. Four other female protagonists—a deuteragonist, Nyasha, and three supporting protagonists... Read Nervous Conditions Summary


Publication year 1960Genre Novel, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Relationships: Family, Society: Class, Society: Colonialism, Society: CommunityTags Heinemann African Writers, African Literature, Historical Fiction, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

No Longer At Ease (1960) is a novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe. The story takes place in the years prior to Nigeria’s independence from the British Empire and focuses on Obi Okonkwo. Obi is a young Nigerian man who returns home after studying English in Britain and finds a job in the civil service. He finds himself situated within the conflict between African and Western culture, raising questions about his identity and worldview. No... Read No Longer at Ease Summary


Publication year 1969Genre Short Story, FictionThemes Identity: Gender, Relationships: Mothers, Society: Community, Relationships: Family, Values/Ideas: Power & GreedTags African Literature, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Gender / Feminism

Publication year 1978Genre Essay Collection, NonfictionThemes Society: ColonialismTags Sociology, History: Middle Eastern, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

One of the foundational texts of postcolonial studies, Edward W. Said’s Orientalism was published in 1978. Up until this point, the term “Orientalism” was used to describe Western scholarship, thinking, and art about “the Orient,” generally Asia and the Middle East. In his book, Said interrogates both the term and ideology of Orientalism. He asserts that the West paints these cultures as exotic and “Other,” using essentialism and stereotypes to situate the West as superior... Read Orientalism Summary


Publication year 1688Genre Novel, FictionTags Classic Fiction, Race / Racism, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Oroonoko by Aphra Behn is a seventeenth-century novella that tells the story of the eponymous hero, the prince and heir to the throne of the African country of Cormantien. Oroonoko’s story is related to us by a nameless female narrator, the daughter of the Lord Governor of Surinam, an English colony where Oroonoko will find himself a slave. Oroonoko’s tale is one of an exemplary man who falls in love with an exceptional woman, Imoinda. However... Read Oroonoko Summary


Publication year 1977Genre Novel, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Loneliness, Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Identity: Femininity, Identity: Race, Society: Colonialism, Society: ImmigrationTags Gender / Feminism, African Literature, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Our Sister Killjoy, or, Reflections from a Black-eyed Squint (1977) is a novel by Ata Ama Aidoo (1942-2023). It was Aidoo’s debut novel, with an experimental style that switches between prose and free verse poetry. Aidoo, a Ghanaian writer, tells the story of Sissie, or Our Sister Killjoy, a young Ghanaian woman who travels around Europe before eventually returning home. She spends most of the narrative in Germany, where she befriends a young German mother... Read Our Sister Killjoy Summary


Publication year 1977Genre Novel, FictionThemes Society: Class, Society: Colonialism, Society: Education, Society: Nation, Values/Ideas: Power & GreedTags African Literature, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Historical Fiction, Mystery / Crime Fiction

Petals of Blood by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o is a historical fiction novel that was first published in 1977. Ngũgĩ is a Kenyan author who has written novels, plays, short stories, and essays that typically center on Kenyan and African politics and the effects of colonialism and neocolonialism on the region. Petals of Blood explores the lives of Kenyans after the Mau Mau Rebellion and subsequent independence in the small village of Ilmorog, as well as its development... Read Petals of Blood Summary


Publication year 2020Genre Poem, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Love, Identity: Race, Emotions/Behavior: Memory, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Emotions/Behavior: Conflict, Emotions/Behavior: Hope, Values/Ideas: Justice & InjusticeTags Lyric Poem, Race / Racism, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Publication year 2020Genre Novel, FictionThemes Relationships: Family, Relationships: Friendship, Life/Time: Coming of Age, Society: Community, Identity: Race, Relationships: Fathers, Relationships: Daughters & Sons, Emotions/Behavior: Determination / Perseverance, Relationships: MothersTags Historical Fiction, Children's Literature, Race / Racism, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Publication year 1953Genre Poem, FictionThemes Society: Colonialism, Emotions/Behavior: Hate & Anger, Values/Ideas: Justice & InjusticeTags History: World, Race / Racism, Afro-Caribbean Literature, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Publication year 1925Genre Novel, FictionThemes Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Society: Colonialism, Society: Class, Relationships: Marriage, Identity: GenderTags Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance, British Literature, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Regency Era

Publication year 2003Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: Colonialism, Society: Politics & Government, Values/Ideas: Truth & Lies, Values/Ideas: Power & Greed, Identity: Indigenous, Life/Time: The PastTags History: European, History: The Americas, Colonialism / Postcolonialism

Publication year 1983Genre Novel, FictionThemes Emotions/Behavior: Shame & Pride, Society: Politics & Government, Society: NationTags Magical Realism, Allegory / Fable / Parable, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Indian Literature

Written by Salman Rushdie in 1983, Shame takes place in a fictionalized version of the city of Quetta in Pakistan. Although several characters are based on historic Pakistani politicians, the novel incorporates elements of magical realism to create a richly nuanced fable whose philosophical message transcends the boundaries of the ordinary. The novel explores themes of Shame Versus Shamelessness, the partition of Pakistan through Partition and Duality, and The Systemic Misogyny of Patriarchal Societies. Shame... Read Shame Summary


Publication year 1935Genre Novel, FictionTags Modern Classic Fiction, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Indian Literature, Asian Literature

Swami and Friends, set in British-colonial India in the year 1930, begins with an introduction to Swaminathan and his four principal friends: Somu, Sankar, Mani, and the Pea. Swaminathan appreciates his friends’ dramatically different personalities, and these differences only strengthen their powerful bond. The arrival of Rajam, who is the son of Malgudi’s new police superintendent, changes everything. Initially, Swaminathan and Mani despise Rajam, but the three boys become best friends after confronting him. Likewise... Read Swami and Friends Summary


Publication year 2021Genre Autobiography / Memoir, NonfictionThemes Identity: Mental Health, Relationships: Family, Relationships: Mothers, Society: ColonialismTags Food, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Trauma / Abuse / Violence

Publication year 2003Genre Book, NonfictionThemes Society: Nation, Society: Colonialism, Values/Ideas: Religion & Spirituality, Society: Class, Society: Immigration, Society: Community, Society: Economics, Values/Ideas: Equality, Values/Ideas: Justice & Injustice, Society: Politics & GovernmentTags History: U.S., Immigration / Refugee, Civil Rights / Jim Crow, Black Lives Matter, Race / Racism, Social Justice, Politics / Government, American Revolution, American Civil War, Colonialism / Postcolonialism, Colonial America, Sociology

The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea that Shaped a Nation, originally published in 2003 by Oxford University Press, is a popular history book by American cultural historian Jim Cullen. As an overview and critical analysis of the American Dream, this book adds some meat to the bones of a traditionally ambiguous concept. Cullen maintains an optimistic outlook about the usefulness of the various American Dreams and about the promise of America, despite... Read The American Dream Summary