Feminist and Postcolonial Thoeries

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and all around the world the rights are different. It takes about the gender knowledge and the structure of the workplace and economy int the country. People may have fought for their rights in many countries but in some countries the women are restricted from doing a lot that the men are allowed to do, which is a prime example of inequality.

‘Probably the most obvious impact of postcolonial studies on human geography has been on the historiography of the discipline’( C Nash, 2002). The connection that the postcolonialism has with geography is that in a way it is connected to the Marxist theory, which was also originated in Europe. Marxist theory was based on the method of class-relations and societal conflict. Post colonialism sees the human relations amongst the colonial nations and records the people being exploited by colonial rule. Postcolonoialism has had a huge effect on cultural geography in many ways : cultural fashioning of gendered, sexualized and racialised colonial identities. ‘ the main thrust of postcolonialism studies is to make Eurocentric views of the world problematic; this means destabilizing many of ‘the course’ assumptions that have become part of a modern education world-wide’.(P. Smith)

A prime example of colonialism is Brazil, a developing country. Brazil has many sources of raw materials such as tobacco, sugar canes and timber and for 400 years it was a colony of Portugal. As they were under the control of Portugals rules, they exported the raw materials at a very low cost. Portugal did benefit from these cheap raw materials whereas Brazil did not. Brazil gained independence in 1822 and were still a primes supplier of coffee beans all around Europe. Postcolonialism caused a huge effect on the Brazilian society and it divided the country up into the rich and poor. Because this divide was still in place a dictatorship in the 20th century was in order to take over and help due to the political unrest.

For women the time of feministic was a tough time to speak out and get the equal rights they deserved. The feminist theories worked to fight the inequality and help find that men and women are equal with the help of geographical evidence and help. I believe that during colonial times the people looked back at the tough time where their world was so divided and now look at the advantages they have now. For one they are free from their colonised country that was once taken over and ruled in a way they did not understand but they had to obey the rules. There were many advantages of both feminism and post colonialism is that both of the parties could learn and grow from the expierence. The people of the colonised countries could become independent and as for the women they now have become more equal to men in society. ‘Democracy is an extremely important element in the way I structure all classes.I like to lay bare power in the classroom and deal with it on an ongoing basis if nothing else than to show how power works on the ground.” (P. Moss, 1997).

Bibligraphy:

• Pratt, G., and Hanson, S. (1994). “Geography and the Construction of Difference.” Gender, Place and Culture 1/1: 5-30

• Mc Dowell, L (1993). ‘ Progress in Human Geography’ 17,2 pp.157-179

• Hansen E,(2012)Dialogue and UniversalismE Volume 3, Number 1/2012 Feminist Geography: A Brief Introduction

• ‘Colonalism and the Politics of postcolonial critique’ – Second reading , accessed on blackboard on the 26/03/14.

• Moss, P. (1997). “ Place of Resistance, Spaces of Respite: Franchise Housekeepers Keeping house in the Workplace and at Home.” Gender Place and Culture, 4/2: 179-96.

• Nash, C. (2002) Progress in Human Geography 26,2 (2002) pp. 219–230

• Natter, W. and Jones, J. P. (1993). “ignposts Towards a Poststructuralist Geography.” In J. P. Jones, W. Natter, and T. Schatzki (eds.) Postmodern Contentions: Epochs, Politics, Space. New York: Guilford, 165-203.

• P Smith ‘Postcolonial geographies (accessed in the readings on blackboard’.