In recent years, postcolonialism and postcolonial theory have provided a countermovement for debates over such issues as imperialism and nationalism and the culture and canon wars. But what does postcolonial theory mean? This is the first book of its kind to clearly map out this field in its own terms.

The first part of the book provides an overview of postcolonialism's pervasiveness in the academy and lucidly illustrates the debates about the often conflicting consensus regarding the proper content, scope, and relevance of its concerns. Leela Gandhi moves luridly through the debates, from Gayatri Spivak's now paradigmatic postcolonial plea, "Can the Subaltern Speak?", to Albert Memmi's controversial claim that the end of colonialism did not mean the end of oppression.

The second part of the book elaborates the themes and issues that have engaged the attention of postcolonial critics. From its influence in Marxism and poststructuralism, from the work of Edward Said to Salman Rushdie, from feminist imperialism to globalization and hybridity, Gandhi demonstrates the ethical concern that postcolonial theory can offer: how to take into account diversity without erasing distinct diasporas of difference.

For both readers beginning to learn about postcolonialism and those familiar with its concerns, no other introduction exemplifies more clearly or energetically this current mode of theoretical inquiry.