Robert LaRue

Graduation Semester and Year

2011

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in English

Department

English

First Advisor

Penelope Ingram

Abstract

The aim of this project is two-fold: to discuss the limits of Frantz Fanon's postcolonial theories, and to then present a possible model for turning "the `thing' colonized [into] a new man" (Wretched 2) by liberating "him" from Fanon's desire for inclusion. Or, to put this in other terms, this investigation seeks to highlight one of the most limiting factors in Fanonian postcolonial theory: Fanon's grounding in European humanism. The goal is not to criticize Fanon's theories, but to point out the limits of them so that these limits can be addressed in order to further the theories' effectiveness. By demonstrating the origins of Fanon's humanism it becomes possible to truly free postcolonial individuals from the oppressions of colonization. As long as there is even the slightest reliance on colonial logic, there can be no true liberation for the colonized since colonial thought and thinking will be at the very base of the newly decolonized world. As long as there are traces of the colonizer, there can be no true sovereignty, no true humanity.

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | English Language and Literature

Comments

Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington

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