Gilroy, race, civilisationism and postcolonial theory

Overview

Gilroy's first proposition, gilroy's proposition about civilisationism and postcolonialism as used in media analysis.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Which theorist argues that colonial discourse persists in contemporary attitudes to race?

   Model answer

   Paul Gilroy makes that argument. Gilroy holds that colonial ways of thinking survive into the postcolonial era.

2. 2

   State Gilroy's first proposition.

   Model answer

   Gilroy argued that the discourses of empire still shape present-day attitudes to race and ethnicity. Empire ended without its habits of thought ending.

3. 3

   State Gilroy's proposition about civilisationism.

   Model answer

   Gilroy argued that civilisationism constructs racial hierarchies. Binary oppositions based on notions of otherness follow from that hierarchy.

4. 4

   Define postcolonialism as used in media analysis.

   Model answer

   Postcolonialism examines the cultural legacy of empire. Analysis asks how former colonial relations still shape representations.

5. 5

   What is meant by civilisationism?

   Model answer

   Civilisationism ranks cultures on a scale of civilisation. The ranking places the coloniser's culture at the top.

6. 6

   How does Gilroy's work extend Hall's account of othering?

   Model answer

   Hall described the construction of subordinate groups as other. Gilroy traces that construction to the specific history of empire.

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