後殖民主義之「後」：超越後殖民想像及底層研究作為批判「理論」

This paper is an analysis and critique of two genres of postcolonial cultural critique. On the one hand, so-called postcolonial theory has sparked heated debate in the literature. I argue that many problems are caused by contradictions in definition; in different disciplinary contexts, they have created incompatible conceptual mindsets. On the other hand, subaltern studies is rooted in a different concrete historical context and theoretical framework, thus at the same time creating a different kind of problematic. Through a critical reassessment of these different but related postcolonialisms and their interdisciplinary influence, this paper will emphasize the collusive relationship between knowledge and its field of practice in order to deconstruct the operation of colonial cultural power. Yet the object of critical gazing for both is still Eurocentric theoretical authority or its historical prevalence, thus in principle can ultimately be viewed within the same frame of analysis.