Reading Postcolonial Literature

Debates about reading in postcolonial studies rarely discuss non-professional readers, except to secure the authority of professional reading practices. In Reading Postcolonial Literature, Hayley G. Toth places non-professional reading practices in dialogue with received academic wisdom to debunk co...

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Κύριος συγγραφέας: Toth, Hayley G.
Μορφή: Online
Γλώσσα:Αγγλικά
Έκδοση: Liverpool University Press 2025
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Διαθέσιμο Online:https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/99844
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author Toth, Hayley G.
author_browse Toth, Hayley G.
author_facet Toth, Hayley G.
author_sort Toth, Hayley G.
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description Debates about reading in postcolonial studies rarely discuss non-professional readers, except to secure the authority of professional reading practices. In Reading Postcolonial Literature, Hayley G. Toth places non-professional reading practices in dialogue with received academic wisdom to debunk common-sense assumptions about non-professional readers as ‘Western’ or ‘neocolonial’ consumers. Drawing on reading practices recorded in academic books, journal articles and on online book-reviewing platforms like Amazon and Goodreads, Toth draws attention to important continuities between professional and non-professional practices of reading postcolonial literature. At the same time, she highlights that non-professionals often have little desire to emulate the practices of professional postcolonial critics. Precisely by not adopting the established protocols and methods of postcolonial studies, non-professional readers call attention to the limits of dominant approaches to reading in the discipline. Across four chapters, Toth examines the relationship between reading and identity during the Rushdie affair, the difference between reading and address, the challenges posed by difficult texts and the legitimacy of non-understanding, and the reception of popular texts primarily read by non-professional audiences. Reading Postcolonial Literature demonstrates that reception matters in any claims we make about the value of reading postcolonial literature, and offers new ways forward for the practice, study and teaching of reading in the discipline.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-1573672025-07-30T08:59:59Z Reading Postcolonial Literature Toth, Hayley G. postcolonial studies; production and consumption; distinction; reception; Goodreads thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSB Literary studies: general thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSB Literary studies: general::DSBH Literary studies: c 1900 to c 2000::DSBH5 Literary studies: postcolonial literature thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics::CFC Literacy thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSB Literary studies: general thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSB Literary studies: general::DSBH Literary studies: c 1900 to c 2000::DSBH5 Literary studies: postcolonial literature thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics::CFC Literacy Debates about reading in postcolonial studies rarely discuss non-professional readers, except to secure the authority of professional reading practices. In Reading Postcolonial Literature, Hayley G. Toth places non-professional reading practices in dialogue with received academic wisdom to debunk common-sense assumptions about non-professional readers as ‘Western’ or ‘neocolonial’ consumers. Drawing on reading practices recorded in academic books, journal articles and on online book-reviewing platforms like Amazon and Goodreads, Toth draws attention to important continuities between professional and non-professional practices of reading postcolonial literature. At the same time, she highlights that non-professionals often have little desire to emulate the practices of professional postcolonial critics. Precisely by not adopting the established protocols and methods of postcolonial studies, non-professional readers call attention to the limits of dominant approaches to reading in the discipline. Across four chapters, Toth examines the relationship between reading and identity during the Rushdie affair, the difference between reading and address, the challenges posed by difficult texts and the legitimacy of non-understanding, and the reception of popular texts primarily read by non-professional audiences. Reading Postcolonial Literature demonstrates that reception matters in any claims we make about the value of reading postcolonial literature, and offers new ways forward for the practice, study and teaching of reading in the discipline. 2025-03-14T11:16:06Z 2025-03-14T11:16:06Z 2025-03-13T09:54:37Z 2025 book https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/99844 9781836243137 9781836243274 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/157367 eng open access image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/99844/1/Toth_9781836243205_web.pdf Liverpool University Press aa5f0a3b-b4a0-4754-9840-b645b364c5ef 9781836243137 9781836243274 216 open access
spellingShingle postcolonial studies; production and consumption; distinction; reception; Goodreads
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSB Literary studies: general
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSB Literary studies: general::DSBH Literary studies: c 1900 to c 2000::DSBH5 Literary studies: postcolonial literature
thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics::CFC Literacy
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSB Literary studies: general
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSB Literary studies: general::DSBH Literary studies: c 1900 to c 2000::DSBH5 Literary studies: postcolonial literature
thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics::CFC Literacy
Toth, Hayley G.
Reading Postcolonial Literature
title Reading Postcolonial Literature
title_full Reading Postcolonial Literature
title_fullStr Reading Postcolonial Literature
title_full_unstemmed Reading Postcolonial Literature
title_short Reading Postcolonial Literature
title_sort reading postcolonial literature
topic postcolonial studies; production and consumption; distinction; reception; Goodreads
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSB Literary studies: general
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSB Literary studies: general::DSBH Literary studies: c 1900 to c 2000::DSBH5 Literary studies: postcolonial literature
thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics::CFC Literacy
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSB Literary studies: general
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSB Literary studies: general::DSBH Literary studies: c 1900 to c 2000::DSBH5 Literary studies: postcolonial literature
thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics::CFC Literacy
topic_facet postcolonial studies; production and consumption; distinction; reception; Goodreads
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSB Literary studies: general
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSB Literary studies: general::DSBH Literary studies: c 1900 to c 2000::DSBH5 Literary studies: postcolonial literature
thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics::CFC Literacy
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSB Literary studies: general
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism::DSB Literary studies: general::DSBH Literary studies: c 1900 to c 2000::DSBH5 Literary studies: postcolonial literature
thema EDItEUR::C Language and Linguistics::CF Linguistics::CFC Literacy
url https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/99844
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