Postcolonialism has become one of the most exciting, popular and stimulating fields of literary and cultural studies in recent years. Yet the variety of approaches, the range of debate and the critical vocabularies often used may make it challenging for new students to establish a firm foothold in this area.Beginning Postcolonialism is a vital resource for those taking undergraduate courses in postcolonial studies for the first time and has become an established international best-seller in the field. In this fully revised and updated second edition, John McLeod introduces the major areas of concern in a clear, accessible and organised fashion. He provides an overview of the emergence of postcolonialism as a discipline and closely examines its many established critical approaches while also exploring important recent initiatives in the field. In particular, Beginning Postcolonialism demonstrates how many key postcolonial ideas and concepts can be effectively applied when reading texts and enables students to develop their own independent thinking about the possibilities and pitfalls of postcolonial critique.

John McLeod is Reader in Postcolonial and Diaspora Literatures at the School of English, University of Leeds, UK

AcknowledgementsPreface to the second edition Introduction1. From Commonwealth to Postcolonial2. Reading colonial discourses3. Nationalist representations4. The nation in question5. Re-reading and re-writing English literature6. Postcolonialism and feminism7. Diaspora identities8. The limits of postcolonialism?Appendix: The Overland Mail (foot-service to the hills) (Rudyard Kipling)Further reading Index