Introduction

The focus of the material included in the preceding parts has been largely, though not exclusively, the elaborating of theoretical and! or political points, rather than the production of an extensive reading of a text on the basis of a particular theoretical perspective. While there would be no justification for suggesting any simplistic dichotomy between theory and its 'application' to literature, there is, nevertheless, a particular value in the inclusion of pieces which undertake a sustained engagement with one or more texts which in a sense demonstrate the practical possibilities for intervention or analysis in the disciplinary area where so much current post-colonial work takes place, namely departments of literature and cultural studies. The readings included here range from those which could be considered classic colonial discourse analysis, to others which are clearly post-colonial in their theoretical and textual focus. ..