Skip to main content

Postcolonial Psychology

  • Reference work entry

Introduction

Postcolonial psychology engages with contexts and concepts related to historical processes of colonization, postcolonial development, and decolonization and aims to elucidate their psychological, political, and cultural manifestations. It draws on early writings on the psychology of colonization, notably those of Frantz Fanon and Albert Memmi, on several works by indigenous writers, and on a range of contemporary writings in critical social theory, literary theory, and cultural studies. Early writings tended to focus on structures of power and psychological dynamics, while a lot of contempray work adopts a discursive or postmodernist approach, attending to cultural representation, identity, and location, with particular reference to migration, gender, race, and ethnicity.

Definition

The word postcolonial was initially defined historically to refer to nations, countries, or states where a colonial regime had ended through warfare or negotiation. Postcolonial studies emerged...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • Bhabha, H. (1994). On the location of culture. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhatia, S. (2007). American karma: Race, culture, and identity in the Indian Diaspora. New York: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biko, S. (2004). I write what I like. Johannesburg: Pan Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bulhan, H. A. (1985). Frantz Fanon and the psychology of oppression. New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • David, E. J. R. (2011). Filipino -/American postcolonial psychology: Oppression, colonial mentality, and decolonization. Bloomington, IN: Authorhouse.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dudgeon, P., & Fielder, J. (2006). Third spaces within tertiary places: Indigenous Australian studies. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 16, 396–409.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duran, E., & Duran, B. (1985). Native American postcolonial psychology. New York: New York University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Enriquez, V. (1995). From colonial to liberation psychology. Manila, Philippines: De La Salle University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fanon, F. (1967). The wretched of the earth. Ringwood, Australia: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hook, D. (2012). A critical psychology of the post colonial. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Huygens, I. (2011). Developing a decolonisation practice for settler colonisers: A case study from aotearoa New Zealand. Settler Colonial Studies, 2(1), 53–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaholokula, J. K. (2007). Colonialism, acculturation, and depression among Kanaka Maoli of Hawai‘i. In P. Culbertson, M. N. Agee, & C. O. Makasiale (Eds.), Penina Uliuli: Contemporary challenges in mental health for pacific peoples (pp. 180–195). Honolulu, Hawaii: University of Hawaii Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Memmi, A. (1967). The colonizer and the colonized. Boston: Beacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moane, G. (2011). Gender and colonialism: A psychological analysis of oppression and liberation. Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mohanty, C. T. (2003). Feminism without borders: Decolonizing theory, practicing solidarity. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nandy, A. (1983). The intimate enemy: Loss and recovery of self under colonialism. Delhi, India: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reyes Cruz, M., & Sonn, C. C. (2011). Decolonizing culture in community psychology: Reflections from critical social science. American Journal of Community Psychology, 47(1/2), 203–214.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Said, E. (1978). Orientalism. London: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, L. T. (1999). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and indigenous peoples. London: Zed Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sonn, C. C., & Green, M. J. (2006). Disrupting the dynamics of oppression in intercultural research and practice. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 16, 337–346.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spivak, G. (1988). Can the subaltern speak? In C. Nelson & L. Grossberg (Eds.), Marxism and the interpretation of culture. Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Teo, T. (2005). The critique of psychology: From Kant to postcolonial theory. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Varas-Díaz, N., & Serrano-García, I. (2003). The challenge of a positives self-image in a colonial context: A psychology of liberation for the Puerto Rican experience. American Journal of Community Psychology, 31(1/2), 103–115.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Geraldine Moane .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this entry

Cite this entry

Moane, G., Sonn, C. (2014). Postcolonial Psychology. In: Teo, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Critical Psychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5583-7_226

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5583-7_226

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-5582-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-5583-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics