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A concept coined by Edward Said to describe the depiction of Eastern societies as exotic, backward, and uncivilized within Western discourse. Orientalism creates a cultural binary of the superior West versus the inferior East and is a key theory in postcolonial studies that critiques imperialist attitudes.

A term used to describe the social groups outside of the hegemonic power structure, often the colonized or less privileged groups. In postcolonial studies, it is associated with the works of Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and is used to highlight voices that are systematically excluded and silenced.

A term describing the mixing and blending of cultures and identities, particularly in postcolonial contexts. Hybridity, as discussed by Homi K. Bhabha and others, challenges the notion of pure or original cultural forms by showing how cultures influence each other and create new, syncretic identities.

The process of defining and securing one's own identity by stigmatizing or demonizing the 'other.' It is an important concept in postcolonial studies as it was often used by colonizers to justify their dominance over colonized people by constructing them as different and inferior.

The continued influence and control by Western countries over the economies, politics, and culture of former colonies, despite their independence. Neo-colonialism is a critical concept in postcolonial studies, emphasizing how colonial relationships can persist in new forms.

The practices, language, and texts used by colonizers to represent and control colonized people and their lands. In postcolonial studies, colonial discourse analysis looks at how this narrative supports colonization and its legacy.

A concept describing the colonial subject's imitation of the colonizer's culture, language, and habits. As addressed by Homi K. Bhabha, mimicry is neither complete assimilation nor rejection but a complex strategy of subversion that can undermine colonial authority.

Refers to the social, political, and economic status of individuals or groups who are excluded from dominant power structures. Postcolonial studies often analyze the marginality of colonized peoples and their struggle for recognition and equality.

An intellectual stance that evaluates the literary, cultural, political, and historical impacts of colonialism and imperialism. Postcolonial critique seeks to deconstruct colonial ideologies and practices to understand their effects on both colonizers and the colonized.

The dispersal of peoples away from their original homeland. In postcolonial studies, diaspora is examined in relation to the impacts of colonization, migration, and globalization on identity, culture, and belonging.

The tendency to consider European culture and history as the most important and standard to which all others are compared. Postcolonial studies challenge this perspective by emphasizing the diversity and validity of non-European cultures and histories.

The dualistic way of understanding the world, typical of colonialist thinking, that divides cultures into opposites such as civilized/barbaric or superior/inferior. Postcolonial theory works to dismantle these binaries and to promote a more nuanced understanding of cultural complexity.

The desire for political independence of a particular country, often connected with the affirmation of a national identity. Within postcolonial studies, the role of nationalism in resistance to colonial rule and in the formation of new states is a frequent subject of analysis.

A concept introduced by Homi K. Bhabha referring to a unique 'space' where disparate cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other. In postcolonial studies, it is a place of hybridity and the production of new cultural meanings outside of binary colonial distinctions.