Bart J. Moore-Gilbert

Bio: Bart J. Moore-Gilbert is an academic researcher from University of London. The author has contributed to research in topics: Postcolonialism & Postcolonial literature. The author has an hindex of 9, co-authored 21 publications receiving 1131 citations.

Postcolonial Theory: Contexts, Practices, Politics

Abstract: In what is the most comprehensive and accessible survey of the field to date, Bart Moore-Gilbert systematically examines the objections that have been raised against postcolonial theory, revealing the simplifications and exaggerations on both sides of the argument. He provides a detailed institutional history of the ways in which the relationship between culture and colonialism has been traditionally studied in the west, then traces the emergence of alternative forms of postcolonial analysis of such questions. He carefully presents the complex work of the three principal representatives of postcolonial theory, Gayatri Spivak, Edward Said and Homi Bhabha, and considers the criticisms they have faced, from an alleged Eurocentrism to an obfuscatory prose style. And he assesses the overlaps and differences between postcolonial theory and other forms of postcolonial criticism. Finally he considers the ways that postcolonial analysis may be connected with different histories of oppression, and looks at how such a heterogeneous theory can be reconciled with political questions of solidarity and alliance in the continuing struggle for cultural decolonization.

Masks of conquest: Literary study and British rule in India

Abstract: (1994). Masks of conquest: Literary study and British rule in India. History of European Ideas: Vol. 18, No. 3, pp. 452-453.

The rhetoric of english India

Abstract: (1993). The rhetoric of english India. History of European Ideas: Vol. 17, No. 4, pp. 533-535.

Postcolonial Life-Writing: Culture, Politics, and Self-Representation

Abstract: An analysis of the distinctive tropes and themes of postcolonial life-writing as a branch of autobiographical writing

Kipling and Orientalism

Abstract: First published in 1986, this book sets Kipling firmly in the historical context not only of contemporary India but of prior Anglo-Indian writers about India. Despite his enthusiastic reception in England as ‘revealer of the East’, in India he seems to have been regarded as just one more Anglo-Indian writer. The author demonstrates the traditionalism of Kipling’s use of the themes of Anglo-Indian fiction – themes such as the ‘White Man’s grave’, domestic instability, frustration and loneliness. In particular, Kipling is shown to be writing in a strongly conservative idiom, concentrating on the role of the British hierarchy as the determining factor in a response to India, on British insecurity and fears of a repeat of the 1857 mutiny, and regarding Indian institutions only in so far as they represented a threat to British rule. Conservative critiques of liberalism are also discussed.

Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism

Abstract: (1995). Imagined communities: Reflections on the origin and spread of nationalism. History of European Ideas: Vol. 21, No. 5, pp. 721-722.

The cultural politics of English as an international language

Abstract: Acknowledgements 1. The World in English Introduction: from Hurt Waldheim to Johnny Clegg The natural, neutral and beneficial spread of English The social, cultural and political contexts of English The worldliness of English Conclusion 2. Discourse and Dependency in a Shifting World Introduction: rethinking internationalism Development, aid and modernization Dependency and imperialism Culture, discourse, difference and disjuncture Criket, English and cultural politics 3. English and Colonialism: Origins of a Discourse Introduction: the complexities of colonialism Anglicism and Orientalism: two sides of the colonial coin English for the few: colonial education policies in Malaya Anglicism and English studies Conclusion 4. Spreading the Word/Disciplining the Language Introduction: anti-nomadic disciplines The disciplining of linguistics The disciplining of applied linguistics The spreading and disciplining of discourse of EIL 5. ELT From Development Aid to Global Commodity From cultural propaganda to global business: The British Council 'The West is better...': discourses of ELT English Language Teaching practices as cultural practices Conclusion: the compass of discourse 6. The Worldliness of English in Malaysia Contexts Cultural politics after independence Malay nationalism and English English, class and ethnicity English adn Islam English and the media The debates continue 7. The Worldliness of English in Singapore English as a useful language The making of Singapore Singapore English Pragmatism, multiracialism and meritocratism Pragmatic, multiracial and meritocratic English Conclusion 8. Writing Back: The Appropriation of English Postcolonial English Re-presenting postcolonial worlds Worldy texts in a worldly language Decentered voices: writing in Malaysia Centered voices: writing in Singapore From aestheticism to yuppyism: the new writing in Singapore From writing back to teaching back 9. Towards a Critical Pedagogy for Teaching English as a Worldly Language Critical pedagogies Discourse, language and subjectivity Insurgent knowledges, the classroom and the world References Index

Imagining the Balkans

Abstract: Starting in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and continuing up to the present, Imagining the Balkans covers the Balkan's most formative years. From the down fall of the Ottoman Empire, through the turbulent nationalist years of the nineteenth century, up to World War I, the idea of the Balkans was fiercely, often violently, contested. In the wake of WWI, the beginnings of a tradition, largely enforced by academics, emerged stigmatizing the Balkans. Since then, the region has suffered from the neglect, abuse, and scant regard of both western Europe and the world. The result has been in many direct ways to compound the Balkan's poverty, internal violence, and lack of national self-image. A startling history of ideas, Imagining the Balkans provides a much needed exploration into a region too long neglected.