Includes index and bibliography.

Postcolonial Theory is a ground-breaking critical introduction to the burgeoing field of postcolonial studies. Leela Gandhi is the first to clearly map out this field in terms of its wider philosophical and intellectual context, drawing important connections between postcolonial theory and post structuralism, postmodernism, Marxism and feminism. She assesses the contribution of major theorists such as Edward Said, Gayatri Spivak and Homi Bhabha, and also points to post colonialism's relationship to earlier thinkers such as Frantz Fanon and Mahatma Gandhi. The book is distinctive in its concern for the specific historical, material, and cultural contexts for postcolonial theory, and in its attempt to sketch out the ethical possibilities for postcolonial theory as a model for living with and knowing cultural difference non-violently. Postcolonial Tehory is a useful starting point for readers new to the field and a provocative account which opens possibilities for debate.