Description
Book SynopsisWhat were the distinctive cultures of decolonisation that emerged between 1945 and 1970? What can they tell us about the complexities of the ''end of empire'' as a process? How did they reflect and influence the processes of dramatic geopolitical change wrought by the dismantling of European empires? Cultures of decolonisation brings together studies of visual, literary and material cultures to explore these questions. The collection illustrates the value of engaging with the complexities of decolonisation, as enacted and experienced by a broad range of actors beyond ''flag independence'' and the realm of high politics. In doing so it makes an important contribution to the diversification of the historiography of the end of empire.A range of disciplinary perspectives are included, with individual chapters focusing on architecture, theatre, museums, heritage sites, fine art and interior design alongside institutions such as artists'' groups, language agencies and the Royal Mint, in Afri
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Reframing cultures of decolonisation - Ruth Craggs and Claire Wintle Part I: Decolonising metropolitan cultures? 1. Black America and the overthrow of the European colonial order: the tragic voice of Richard Wright - Bill Schwarz 2. Humanist modernism: Ralph Hotere and 'New Commonwealth Internationalism' - Damian Skinner 3. Henry Swanzy, Sartre's zombie? Black Power and the transformation of the Caribbean Artists Movement - Rob Waters 4. Anxiety abroad: austerity, abundance, and race in post-war visual culture - David C. Wall Part II: Performing decolonisation 5. The peasant armed: Bengal, Vietnam and transnational solidarities in Utpal Dutt's Invincible Vietnam - Abin Chakraborty 6. Cultural heritage as performance: re-enacting Angkorian grandeur in postcolonial Cambodia (1953-70) - Michael Falser 7. 'I still don't have a country': the southern African settler diaspora after decolonisation - Jean Smith Part III: Decolonising expertise 8. Managing the cultural past in the newly independent states of Mali and Ghana - Sophie Mew 9. More than tropical? Modern housing, expatriate practitioners and the Volta River Project in decolonising Ghana - Viviana d'Auria 10. Designing change: coins and the creation of new national identities - Catherine Eagleton 11. What colonial legacy? The Dewan Bahas dan Pustaka (House of Language) and Malaysia's cultural decolonisation - Rachel Leow Index
