ABSTRACT
The idea of the uncanny describes the dual quality of all identity, but is particularly useful in the study of colonialism. Bhabha uses the idea to complicate divisions between Western and non-Western identities, in other words large and abstract identities. But this complication also undermines the simple sense of identity claimed by real political forms, most obviously nations. Nations have been extremely important in discussions of colonialism, specifically forms of nationalism involved in anti-colonial struggle and postcolonial reconstruction. They have enabled stable cultural identities, as well as grounding necessary political structures: oppressed peoples have identified with clear national identities. Therefore, nations have seemed a vital organizing principle for many writers in post-colonial studies (for example Ahmad 1992). However, Bhabha rejects the welldefined and stable identity associated with the national form. It is not that he rejects national identity entirely, but that he wants to keep such identity open. He achieves this by examining the ‘narration’ of nations; indeed, he edited a collection called Nation and Narration. Nations have their own narratives, but very often a dominant or official narrative overpowers all other stories, including those of minority groups. Such minority or marginalized groups have privileged perspectives on the rethinking of national identities, helping to make them more inclusive and realistic.
