ABSTRACT
The previous chapter explores the implications inherent in the colonial ‘practice’
of linguistic and cultural translation. It highlights the need to re-theorise the
‘concept’ of translation from a postcolonial perspective in order to overturn the
derogatory effects of its colonial usage. Additionally, the previous chapter
offers a general overview of the underlying principles of colonial discourse. By
colonial discourse I refer to the entire body of knowledge and technology, as
well as the methods of cultural representation used to construct and dominate
colonial subjects. In general, the previous discussion can be taken as an
extension of the introduction leading into more specific areas in the work of
Bhabha. This chapter explains another concept which underpins Bhabha’s
critique of colonial discourse: ambivalence. Although he is more readily
associated with terms such as hybridity, mimicry and the performative, the
critical capacity that he assigns to these terms rests largely on the
psychoanalytic concept of ambivalence. By explaining the concept of
ambivalence, this chapter continues to build up a basic theoretical context
before undertaking the analysis of the previously mentioned three concepts:
hybridity, the Third Space and the performative.
