ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents the idea of the Western-ness of history, either in origin, orientation or ideology, is one which post-colonial critics debate. The significance of history for post-colonial discourse lies in the modern origins of historical study itself, and the circumstances by which 'History' took upon itself the mantle of a discipline. The sort of criticism which is sometimes made of post-colonial work in this area is that it appears more interested in migrants as a metaphor than in migrants as real people or actual political issue. The problem of unsettled or unsettling identities which Bhabha's quote raises is an issue at the heart of post-colonialism. If the colonial powers fundamentally disrupted many indigenous cultures and identities in the past, then, as Bhabha's quote suggests, post-colonial migrant groups could be seen as returning the compliment, in however modest a fashion.
