From Orientalsim to Postcoloniality

Orientalsim and postcoloniality are synonymous with contemporary culture
and literature. As much as the younger generations of formally colonized
nations and communities would like to argue, the truth of the matter is that

Conference, Symposium, and Panel Reports 155



on some level, their colonial times have made an everlasting impression on
their own identity and culture. This was one of the many themes that the
conference, held at the Södertörns Högskola University College in Stock-
holm, Sweden, focused on during its congested four-day program.

This was one of the largest gatherings to deal with issues of ethnic iden-
tity and diversity, as well as the non-proverbial influences of colonialism in
the reshaping of new communities and their modernized cultures. Papers
presented ranged from diversity and nationalism in the postcolonial context,
postcolonialsim and religious studies, African-American writing and social
activism, colonial romanticism and white supremacy, and postcolonial liter-
ature and film in English, among other topics. 

This may have been the first postcolonial conference of this size and
scope in Sweden. In her welcome speech, conference organizer Kerstin
Shands (professor, Department of English) mentioned that participants had
come from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Malawi, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, India, Tai-
wan, Hong Kong, the United States, Japan, Croatia, Northern Ireland, South
Africa, and Britain, and that the organizers had been surprised by the amount
of interest elicited. Clearly, this interest testifies to the topic’s importance. 

Postcolonial critics need to deal with occidentalist or anti-western per-
spectives, along with a renewed attention to the “otherness” of the “other.”
Also on the agenda were concerns about religion and the sacred, as well as
the natural environment. Postcolonialism may finally be in the process of
desecularizing itself. The papers presented were thought-provoking, to say
the least.

In the first “Black American Writing and Social Activism” workshop,
Fredrik Sunnermark (senior lecturer, Cultural Studies, University West, Troll-
hättan, Sweden) presented “Sameness and Difference: The Paradoxical
Meaning of the ‘Negro’ in the Rhetoric of Martin Luther King, Jr.” Mari-
angela Palladion (Ph.D. candidate, University of Stratchclyde, Glasgow, UK)
spoke on “History, Postcolonialism, and Postmodernism in Toni Morrison’s
Beloved,” which The New York Times recently named the best work of Amer-
ican fiction in the last 25 years. She provided an analytical look into this book
by drawing religious allegories from within the context of the characters and
their stories. At the end of the workshop, author, poet, artist, and lecturer Shay
Youngblood (Jamaica Plain, MA) tackled the topic of “Transforming the
Personal into the Proverbial: Subversive Fictions in Print and on Canvas.” He
focused on the significance of art and literature (and combining them into one
art form), maintaining that they can be applied in such a way as to address
issues that reflect a postcolonial world.

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Conference, Symposium, and Panel Reports 157

On the second day, I attended the workshop “Windows of Change: De-
colonisation or Re-colonisation?” chaired by Donald Christian (instructor,
Södertörn University College) and John Forward (instructor, Department of
English, Södertörn University College). This session featured an intriguing
look back into the history and process of de-colonization in the Middle and
Far East by Major Simon Williams (retired, Sweden), who had served as a
British army officer in the Persian Gulf and focused on the significance and
impact of this process on the local communities. John Forward’s paper on
“Harold McMillan: A Metaphor?” delved into the characterizations and prin-
cipals of the man, as well as his accomplishments, and touched upon his rela-
tionship with assassinated American president John F. Kennedy. This topic
was also addressed by Ian Bald (American Embassy, Sweden) in his “The
Life and Times of John F. Kennedy.” The discussions veered into the imperi-
alistic domination of powerful states throughout history and compared the
British Empire and its colonization policy with today’s empire, the United
States, and its international policy.

In the first session of the “Postcolonial Literature and Film in English”
workshop, Amit Ray (lecturer, Department of Language and Literature,
Rochester Institute of Technology, USA) presented “Of Booker and Spice
and Everything Nice: Indian-ness Literary Prizes and Cosmopolitan Cul-
ture.” His absorbing analysis questioned the reasons behind the dominance
of postcolonial literature on the literary prize scene, highlighting in particu-
lar the various winning titles of the Man Booker Prize coming out of India.
Rose Bloem (Skovde University, Sweden) addressed “The Spectre of the
‘Other,’’’ giving examples in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, Jean Rhys’ Wide
Sargasso Sea, and Nadine Gordimer’s A Sport of Nature. The session ended
with an animated presentation by Osita Ezeliora (instructor, School of Liter-
ature and Language Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg,
South Africa) on the “Subject of the Other: Location of the Self in Zoë
Wicomb’s Post-Apartheid Post-colony.” She argued that Wicomb’s litera-
ture is a raw and accurate account of life in postcolonial Africa and dis-
missed the myths and tainted images produced by other literatures.

The conference also featured a short documentary film, “Models of
Success,” which featured a group of Arab Muslim women from the Persian
Gulf region and highlighted their role in supporting and developing their
communities through their active involvement in various training and edu-
cation programs for youths. The women featured all come from humble
backgrounds and have broken new ground by achieving remarkable feats in
otherwise male-dominant Arab societies. The film, in English, was written,



158 The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 23:3

directed, and produced by Art L. Jones (English instructor, University of
Bahrain) and coproduced by Ali Al Saeed (writer/author, Baharin), who
attended the conference.

Among the various keynote lectures was one on “Said and the Critics:
The Historical and Orientalist Response,” presented by Nigel Wood (profes-
sor, Department of English, University of Loughborough, UK), who shed
light on Edward Said’s relationship with literary and social criticism and his
critique of it from both a historical and an orientalist perspective, and the
impact that such views have had on modern thinking. 

The first day featured three keynote lectures: Anthony Grooms (writer
and professor of creative writing, Kennesaw State University, Georgia, USA)
on “Civil Rights Movement Narrative and the American Civic Place,” Inga
Brandell (associate professor, Department of Political Science, Södertörn
University) on “Revisiting Ibn Khaldun: Contemporary Use and Misuse of
Classical Arab Science,” and Irina Sandomirskaja (professor of culture stud-
ies, The Baltic and East European Graduate School, Södertörn University) on
“One-sixth of the World: Avantgrade Film, Revolutionary Language and the
Colonization of the Periphery in the USSR during the 1920s.”

The Literary Salon, convened on the conference’s final day, featured
readings and recitals by writers and authors Shay Youngblood (Big Mamma
Stories, Soul Kiss, and Black Girl in Paris), Anthony Grooms (Bombing-
ham), Dilruba Ara (A List of Offences), and Marisa Villagra.

Ali Al Saeed
Writer and author

Isa Town, Bahrain