As postcolonial studies shift to a more comparative approach, one of the most intriguing developments has been within the Francophone world. A number of genealogical lines of influence are now being drawn connecting the work of the three figures most associated with the emergence of postcolonial theory – Homi Bhabha, Edward Said, and Gayatri Spivak – to an earlier generation of French (predominantly poststructuralist) theorists. Within this emerging narrative of intellectual influences, the importance of the thought of Jacques Derrida, and the status of deconstruction generally, has been ackno ... More

As postcolonial studies shift to a more comparative approach, one of the most intriguing developments has been within the Francophone world. A number of genealogical lines of influence are now being drawn connecting the work of the three figures most associated with the emergence of postcolonial theory – Homi Bhabha, Edward Said, and Gayatri Spivak – to an earlier generation of French (predominantly poststructuralist) theorists. Within this emerging narrative of intellectual influences, the importance of the thought of Jacques Derrida, and the status of deconstruction generally, has been acknowledged, but has not until now been adequately accounted for. This book looks at the underlying conceptual tensions and theoretical stakes of what the author terms a ‘deconstructive postcolonialism’, and argues that postcolonial studies stand to gain ground in terms of political forcefulness and philosophical rigour by turning back to, and not away from, deconstruction.