The Concept of Other: A Crucial Concern in Postcolonial Studies

Authors: Umar Mohammed Hadejia

Country: Nigeria

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Abstract: This study aims at disclosing how postcolonial study describes the concept of Other, which is one of the derogatory words with which western imperialists and missionaries castigate the peoples of the colonized nations. To the colonial powers, these peoples are uncivilized, uneducated, savages, uncultured and hence fit to be pushed to the margin of humanity. These superiority complex and stereotypes of the colonial masters make them draw a crazy dichotomy (binary opposition) in the name of Self and Other. They are the Self, while the colonized peoples are the Other. Hence, this research tries to define the term Other in the face of postcolonial literature studies and to show how it all comes about. The paper will examine the concepts of West and the Other, Power, Geographical Other, Gender, Segregation, and Exotism, among others, as the factors that lead to the realization of the idea of Self and the Other established in the European minds.

Keywords: Other, Otherness, Self, Binary Opposition, Postcolonial Study

Paper Id: 1411

Published On: 2022-03-20

Published In: Volume 10, Issue 2, March-April 2022

Cite This: The Concept of Other: A Crucial Concern in Postcolonial Studies - Umar Mohammed Hadejia - IJIRMPS Volume 10, Issue 2, March-April 2022.

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