ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines some of the strategies that might enable the production of postcolonial knowledge. Broadly speaking postcolonial perspectives can be said to be anti-colonial. However, the politics of postcolonialism often diverges sharply from other perspectives and its radicalism rejects established agendas and accustomed ways of seeing. Critical and progressive approaches to development and postcolonialism already share much common ground in both principle and practice. Postcolonial approaches are part of broader, progressive epistemologies and methodologies that seek to valorize and mobilize politically around cultures, identities, rights, knowledge and worldviews of marginalized or subaltern groups. The convergence between the concerns of postcolonialism with subaltern histories, voices and identities and progressive approaches to development has produced what some describe as a ‘disabling angst’ about issues of representation and reflexivity, especially amongst Northern scholars in respect of ‘others’ in the South. Postcolonial critiques raise profound issues concerning the ethics of research and knowledge production more broadly.
