COLONIALISM
Presuppositions
Cultural evolution (the west is the best)
Truth objective, one right way: the west
Gospel and culture equated
Foreigners decide needs which need to be met
Syncretism the great evil
Methods
Focus on medical work and education
Impose western forms
Most things done by foreigners
Long term foreign presence (life-time of foreigner)
In some areas, believers told how to live out faith by foreigners
Those who didn't profess publicly were not "true" or adequate believers
Extraction of believers from local culture
Translation style
Literal translation
Form based translation
Written book
Translation strategy
Foreigners do a NT 'for them' using language helpers or language informants
Project management
SIL member in charge of project
POST-COLONIALISM (also called anti- or neo-colonialism)
Presuppositions
Cultural relativism (every culture OK)
Each culture and church independent, making own decisions
No way to judge right/wrong
Meet felt needs
Ethnocentrism is the great evil
Methods
Focus on encouraging nationals, and letting them take control
Everything contextualized
Monetary support undermines independence
Theology related only to local situation
Separated gospel and culture
In some areas, Church leaders make decisions and specify what resources and help they want
Church leaders look to the Middle East as example of how church should look
Partial contextualization without extraction
Translation style
Dynamic equivalence, meaning based translation
Written book or oral product
Translation strategy
Foreigners with MTTs do translation together
Foreigners provide training, money, or other needs
Project management
Independent sustainable projects
NBTOs as parallel organizations
GLOBALISM
Presuppositions
Multi-cultural emphasis, all cultures have something to contribute
Multi-disciplinary perspective
Consider both felt needs and real needs
Not partnering is the great evil
Methods
Critical contextualization (some things shouldn't be contextualized)
Theology related to global and historical church
Engaging the global church
Point people to Christ, not the west
In some areas, Joint decision-making by locals and foreigners
Reciprocal accountability of foreigner and locals
Sharing resources
Translation style
Receptor oriented translation (the style depends on the specific situation)
Print and non-print media
Translation strategy
Inter-church/inter-agency partnerships
Train MTTs and church leaders to do translation
Project management
All sending organizations are WMOs
Translation movements
(adapted from a table presented by Tim Hatcher et. al. at NEG's GC 2010)
Let’s make sure none of us are stuck in the neo-colonialist paradigm!
Key:
LWC Language of wider communication
MTT Mother-tongue Translator
NBTO National Bible Translation Organisation
WMO Wycliffe Member Organisation
Bibliography
Bassnett and Trivedi, Post-colonial Translation: Theory and practice. 1999
Leon Beachy and Tim Farrell, presentation to ETP participants, 2007.
T. Johnson Chakkuvarackal, Important Issues in the Translation of the Bible in the Indian Context http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=2447 accessed 8th March 2011
Paul Hiebert, 'The Missionary as a Mediator of Global Theologizing' in Ott and Netland Globalizing Theology, Baker Academic, 2006
Michael Prior, The Bible and Colonialism – A Moral Critique 1997, 1999 Sheffield Academic Press
R. S. Sugirtharajah, Asian Biblical Hermeneutics and Postcolonialism – Contesting the Interpretations [1998] 1999, Sheffield Academic Press, England.
R. S. Sugirtharajah, Textualization The Bible and the Third World – Precolonial, Colonial and Postcolonial Encounters 2001 CUP
R. S. Sugirtharajah, Postcolonial Criticism and Biblical Interpretation 2002 OUP
(this Bibliography covers my previous post too)
Excellent stuff to write about and get us all thinking! This topic is riddled with semantic worm holes though and knowing how much meaning matters here goes a couple of queries! ;)
ReplyDeleteIs there a semantic blurring here of globalisation with globalism? These processes are frequently misunderstood...
If I read you correctly you are suggesting that a globally interconnected perspective (which you call globalism in this blog but introduce as globalisation at the end of the previous) can balance the perceived relativism of a postcolonialism with the uncritical dogma of a colonial perspective?
My first query here is whether or not postcolonialism is being too closely affiliated with postmodern deconstructionism. Postocolonialism is anything but relativist in its presuppositions as its inherent bias is towards the subaltern or the mute, the disempowered (by colonial processes)members of an encounter.
Glocalisation may serve (as a semantic waitress!)helpfully as it captures the idea of thinking globally (ie interconnected understanding of the big picture) and yet acting locally (with the attendant critical contextualisation). However, even this word is fraught with the inherently under-critical tendencies of how one thinks both globally and locally...this is where post-colonial critique can lend an unswervingly critical and uncomfortable bias which frankly in my opinion, shouldn't be too rapidly swept up in a merry dance with globalism ;)
Globalisation as a set of processes is not, it seems to me, inherently self-aware, but rather more dogmatically pragmatic and thus, especially, when led by market forces, tends towards reaffirming, to my mind, more colonial aspirations...
OK, have edited all occurrences of 'globalisation' to 'globalism'. Thanks for pointing this out. I'm pretty confused about all these labels, to be honest, as someone fairly new to the subject...
ReplyDeleteAs for postmodernism - interestingly a Russian participant on the course pointed out your exact point. Maybe we should award her an honorary PhD? :) But not sure I agree that postcolonialism not being relativistic. I'll have to think about that. Didn't it basically say that Westerners have nothing to say in, say, African contexts? Globalism would allow us a voice, at least. Which is more relativistic, then?
I'd strongly reccomend Jonathan Ingleby's book Beyond Empire as a good reader on Post-Colonialism in Mission.
ReplyDeleteI read this review: http://postcolonialjournal.com/Resources/Review%20Beyond%20Empire.pdf and was rather put off. Do you think his criticisms are invalid?
ReplyDeleteI have read the review in the Journal of Postcolonial Theory and Theology by Jorgen Skov Sorenson and agree with most of the points made though I still think my book is worth reading! (So does Sorenson by the way. He ends up by saying 'highly recommended'.) With regard to the discussion I think Carol and Andy have made most of the points I would like to stress. Postcolonialism is not the same thing as neo-colonialism (nor even pure and simple anti-colonialism) but rather a discourse which takes into account the fact that the contemporary scene has been shaped by colonialism. It wants to go on from there to break down the old 'us' and 'them' way of looking at things, introducing along the way some new concepts such as 'subaltern history'and 'hybridity'. (See e.g. my article on Colonialism/postcolonialism in the Dictionary of Mission Theology.) Also, I think the taxonomy above gives globalism a far too easy ride. No doubt there are some positive features but its practical effects ('globalisation')look to me like another version of late capitalism. As for postmodernity and the whole relativism debate that seems to me another question altogether. Anyone who looks hard at the whole contextualisation issue will have to enter this debate but it will not be solved by opting for globalism over postcolonialism.
ReplyDeleteNot sure quite how to begin my reply - I wasn't expecting a response from the author! I must get hold of your book and read it for myself. Thank you for the caution on globalism and globalisation. Yes, I have mixed opinions on the latter, certainly, and need to revise my view of the former.
ReplyDeleteDavid..there are copies of Jonathan's book in the Redcliffe library...and yes, it most certainly worth a read...come and audit MA2 in May where we look at Postoclonialism and globalisation more closely.
ReplyDeleteJust to come back briefly on our interchange regarding relativism...a big discussion indeed...my point was to note that postcolonialism it seems to me, does not advocate an arbitrary relativism but one which orbits around a specific set of principles.
I should, by the way, identify myself as Carol and get a profile which does not implicate Andy in my opinions poor guy!