Postcolonial Transitions in Europe: Contexts, Practices and Politics [Hardcover]

Is the notion of postcolonial Europe an oxymoron? How do colonial pasts inform the emergence of new subjectivities and political frontiers in contemporary Europe? Postcolonial Transitions in Europe explores these questions from different theoretical, geopolitical and media perspectives.

Drawing from the interdisciplinary tools of postcolonial critique, this book contests the idea that Europe developed within clear-cut geographical boundaries. It examines how experiences of colonialism and imperialism continue to be constitutive of the European space and of the very idea of Europe. By approaching Europe as a complex political space, the chapters investigate topical concerns around its politics of inclusion and exclusion towards migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, as well as its take on internal conflicts, transitions and cosmopolitan imaginaries.

With a foreword by Paul Gilroy

Sandra Ponzanesi is Professor of Gender and Postcolonial Studies at the Department of Media and Culture Studies, Utrecht University.

Gianmaria Colpani is a PhD candidate of Philosophy and Gender Studies at the University of Verona and Utrecht University.


With a foreword by Paul Gilroy, Professor of American and English Literature at King's College London

Postcolonial Transitions in Europe is an extremely important and timely intervention into academic and public debates around the continents identity, its past, present and future. The volume offers rigorous and original scholarship that draws on a broad range of sources from popular culture to migration policies and ethnographic research. Its authors demonstrate how the concept of postcoloniality can be mobilized to productively address legacies of violence and inequality that have so far remained woefully undertheorized, while also pointing to more equitable ways for Europe to define itself and its place in the world. The accessible and thought-provokinginterrogation of issues that will only l“v