Discourse on Colonialism / Edition 1

by Aimé Césaire

Overview

"Césaire's essay stands as an important document in the development of third world consciousness—a process in which [he] played a prominent role."

—Library Journal
This classic work, first published in France in 1955, profoundly influenced the generation of scholars and activists at the forefront of liberation struggles in
Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Nearly twenty years later,
when published for the first time in English, Discourse on Colonialism
inspired a new generation engaged in the Civil Rights, Black Power, and anti-war movements and has sold more than 75,000 copies to date.


Aimé Césaire eloquently describes the brutal impact of capitalism and colonialism on both the colonizer and colonized, exposing the contradictions and hypocrisy implicit in western notions of "progress"
and "civilization" upon encountering the "savage," "uncultured," or
"primitive." Here, Césaire reaffirms African values, identity, and culture, and their relevance, reminding us that "the relationship between consciousness and reality are extremely complex. . . . It is equally necessary to decolonize our minds, our inner life, at the same time that we decolonize society." An interview with Césaire by the poet
René Depestre is also included.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781583670255
Publisher:	Monthly Review Press
Publication date:	01/01/2001
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	102
Sales rank:	90,692
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.32(d)

About the Author

A celebrated poet, novelist, and philosopher, AIMÉ CÉSAIRE is the author of several books, volumes of poetry and numerous plays, including Return to My Native Land, A Season in the Congo and an African version of Shakespeare's The Tempest.