Palliative care for non-dominant ethnocultural groups is problematized in the palliative care literature, which often presents essentialist conceptions of cultural beliefs on death and dying. Death is often portrayed as a taboo topic within the Chinese community, and thus, the assumption is that dying at home may not be the preferred option. Beyond these stereotypical representations, little is known about what it is like for Chinese immigrants with terminal cancer to receive palliative home care. Home is a complex site where cultural “difference” becomes contextually salient when home care providers introduce palliative care. More is potentially at stake than the violation of a taboo, as Chinese immigrant care recipients, their family caregivers, and home care providers negotiate changes to the existing routines of the home. The purpose of this study was to examine how meanings of home condition negotiations of care between Chinese immigrants with terminal cancer receiving palliative home care, family caregivers, and home care providers. Postcolonial theory provided a critical lens for this focused ethnographic study of palliative home care for Chinese Canadian immigrants. The analysis drew on postcolonial concepts such as Othering, subjugation, and hybridity. The methods included interviews with 11 key informants, and observational visits and interviews were conducted in 4 cases of Chinese immigrant care recipients, their family caregivers, and home care nurses. Two major findings emerged: 1) colonization and distancing and 2) negotiating hybridity. The meaning of home was deeply altered as palliative home care occupied care recipients’ and family caregivers’ everyday lives and represented a form of micro-colonization - the home was metaphorically invaded. The ambivalent relationship between care recipients and home care providers was characterized by a mutuality of need, but care recipients used distancing as a way to resist colonization. Palliative care presented its own unique cultural influence, which was imbued with meanings, beliefs, and practices. For care recipients, the meaning of dying at home was fluid, situational, and contextually informed. Subsequently, differences were created and highlighted in the confrontation between the meaning of palliative care for home care providers and the meaning of dying at home for care recipients. It was in the meeting, blending, clashing, and grappling of differences where participants had to negotiate and generate new, hybrid meanings and practices so that particularized, personal approaches to dying could be achieved. The findings capture the realities and complexities of palliative home care, and highlight the sophisticated and evolving ways providers come to know and care for care recipients and families in their homes. Although culture was prominently featured in participant narratives, the pragmatics of dying at home were more pressing than was adherence to essentialized cultural beliefs of death and dying. A key implication is the need to move away from simplistic conceptualizations of culture to a critical approach that will enable providers to understand and find comfort in working with the fluid, dynamic, and contextually-driven nature of culture and dying at home.

21st-century Neo-anticolonial Literature and the Struggle for a New Global Order explores the twenty-first-century fiction of five writers and investigates the ways in which their works engage the legacy and evolution of empire, and, in particular, the expansion of global capitalism to the detriment of already-subjugated communities. Taking up a recent call by Postcolonial scholars seeking to address the contemporary challenges of the postcolonial condition, this project traces out three distinct forms of engagement that function as a resistance in the texts. The dissertation introduces these concepts via a mode of analysis I have called Neo-anticolonialism, a counter-hegemonic approach which, I argue, is unique to the twenty-first century but rooted in the anticolonial work of Aimé Césaire and Frantz Fanon. Building on a foundation laid by those activist scholars, this project argues that Neo-anticolonialism necessitates the bridging of discourse and activism; thus, the dissertation delineates the utility of Neo-anticolonialism in both literary scholarship and practical application. Through a close analysis of the fiction of the Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Jamaican Michelle Cliff, Amitav Ghosh, a South Asian writer, African American writer Edward P. Jones, and Black British writer Caryl Phillips, the project offers a Neo-anticolonial reading of several twenty-first-century texts. In doing so, I explain the depiction of these instances of resistance as Neo-anticolonial Refractions, literary devices which function as prisms that cast images thus exposing the perpetuation of inequality in the twenty-first century and its direct link to the past epoch. Moreover, each chapter, through an explication of the refractions, reveals how resistance occurs in the face of the brutal reality of oppression and how this cadre of writers engages with the history of empire as well as with its contemporary permutations.

The overarching aim of this study is to trace evidence of resistant behaviour among subordinate groups in the first forty years of Fiji's colonial history (1874-1914). By rereading archival materials "against the grain", listening to oral history, and engaging postcolonial scholarship, the study intends to disturb accepted ways of understanding Fiji's past. This approach reveals the existence of numerous people, voices, and events which until recently have remained largely on the margins of Fiji's process of historical production. As a chronological survey, the study produces a body of evidence which uncovers a rich array of forms of resistance. The points at which these forms of resistance engaged dominant culture are divided into two broad categories. The first examines several forms of organized resistance such as the Colo War of 1876, the Tuka Movement of 1878 to 1891, the Seaqaqa War of 1894, the Movement for Federation with New Zealand from 1901 to 1903, the Viti Kabani Movement of 1913 to 1917, and the various instances of organised labour protest on Fiji's plantations. The second addresses everyday forms of resistance in the villages and plantations such as tax and land boycotts, violence and retributive justice, avoidance protest, petitioning, and various aspects of women's resistance. In their entirety these aspects of resistance reveal a complex web of relationships between powerful and subordinate groups, and among subordinate groups themselves. These conclusions preclude framing resistance as a totality and advocate instead a conceptualization of resistance as a multi-layered and multi-dimensional reality. In contributing to the reconstruction and revision of Fiji's early colonial history, the study seeks to both clarify and complicate future research in the area.

Many scholarly and policy evaluations of governance in Uganda have blamed limited commitment to democracy in the country squarely on the shoulders of state leaders. This dissertation considers a broader range of explanations and raises questions about the limited understanding of democracy expressed in the prevailing literature. It does so by considering historical contexts, international and global structures, and the relationship between local political cultures and the contested concept of democracy. Claims about democracy and good governance, it suggests, are used to justify very narrow procedural prescriptions for the domestic state on the basis of a systematic neglect of Uganda’s specific political history and the structural contexts in which the Ugandan state can act. More specifically, this dissertation engages with one of the key controversies in the literature on the politics of development, that concerning the degree to which accounts of democracy favoured by the most powerful states should guide attempts to create democratic institutions elsewhere. It argues that at least some of the factors that are often used to explain the failure of democracy in Uganda can be better explained in terms of two dynamics that have been downplayed in the relevant literature: competition between different understandings of how democracy should be understood in principle; and the international conditions under which attempts to impose one specific account of democracy - multiparty representation – have marginalized other possibilities. These dynamics have undermined processes that arguably attempt to construct forms of democracy that respond to very specific socio-cultural conditions. Fundamental disputes about how democracy should be understood are already familiar from the history of democracy in Western societies, where struggles to impose some forms of democracy over others have defined much of the character of modern politics. The importance of the international or global dimension of democratic politics has received less attention, even in relation to Western societies, but is especially significant in relation to Africa’s political history and its position in the world. After reviewing the history of struggles over forms of governance in Uganda, this dissertation explores a series of unique open-ended interviews carried out in 2009 with important political actors in Uganda. On this basis, it argues for the ongoing centrality both of the always contested character of democracy and of attempts to impose particular accounts of democracy through internationalised and globalised structures. An appreciation of both dynamics, especially in the historical context that has been downplayed in much of the literature, offers a better scholarly ground on which to evaluate contemporary politics in Uganda than the choice between multiparty systems and dictatorship that remains influential in discussions of the Ugandan case. Such an appreciation is in keeping with important recent attempts to think about the possibilities of democracy in Uganda in postcolonial terms and to resist the forms of neocolonial politics that are examined here as a ‘politics of dispensation.’ / Graduate / 0615 / 0616 / sabina@uvic.ca

There has been an increasing realization of the significance of Indigenous knowledge (IK) in achieving sustainability. Education is also considered a primary agent in moving toward sustainability. However, research that explores education focused on sustainability in Malawi is sparse, especially where the roles of IK and youth perspectives have been considered. This research draws on the concepts of uMunthu, Sankofa, and postcolonial theory to enable a “third space” (Bhabha, 1994) centred on culturally appropriate Malawian ways of knowing working in tandem with non-Indigenous knowledge and practice. Three main questions guide the study: (1) How do participants understand place and environmental sustainability in relation to knowledge and practice (both Indigenous and non-Indigenous)?; (2) Within the context of Chinduzi village, the Junior Farmer Field and Life Skills School (JFFLS) program, and its engagement with issues of environmental sustainability, what forms of knowledge and practice are evident (both Indigenous and non-Indigenous)?; and (3) What are participants’ views on how environmental sustainability should be further engaged in the JFFLS program in relation to knowledge and practice (both Indigenous and non-Indigenous)? Data collection methods included focus groups, place mapping, individual conversations, observations, and archival documents review. The data were coded using inductive analysis and the research employed aspects of participatory research and Indigenous research methodologies. The research findings reveal that while there is general consensus among the participants supporting youth learning IK in school, others are not supportive because they consider IK to be inferior. In considering place and environmental sustainability, the findings revealed that participating Elders describe their sense of place in terms of historical agriculture-related knowledge and practice. On the other hand, participating youth express their sense of place in drawings of their favourite places. The drawings revealed that youth are largely rooted in their social-cultural interactions within their community, but also influenced by global culture. The study results show that the JFFLS curriculum includes both Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge and practice in both agriculture-related and life skills lessons. To achieve environmental sustainability in the community, participants recommend all youth in the community learn local Indigenous knowledge and practices for protecting the environment.

The aim of this study is, from a norm-critical approach, to find, investigate and analyse human representation in the visual culture of one preschool in order to understand if the children enrolled are represented or not. The research questions are: In what ways is there imagery of human representations in images and materials designed for play? What skin-colors and origins are dominant in the data collected? We carried out a qualitative study in the form of visual ethnography. This method allowed us to use a combination of different data collection tools such as photography and ethnographic field notes to collect our data. The photographs we took of images and material used for play, was then analysed through semiotic picture analysis. The focus was to see which skin-color and origin that was dominant in the photographs of human representations. The result of the study, show that human representation is found in many variations such as, books, board games, puzzles and materials for educational use. The study also show that the vast majority of representations, displayed people of white skin and Swedish origin. In discussing these results we argued that the selected preschool is imbued by the norm of whiteness that is also dominant in the Swedish society. From a postcolonial perspective, we find that this norm and its underlying assumption of racial differences forms part of a historically rooted structural system of values that has evolved in Sweden during hundreds of years. The impact these results have in a preschool context is that children don’t have the same opportunity to identification through the visual culture at the preschool. We conclude that this can, in the long run, create problems since representation or lack of representation is linked to marginalization of whole social groups due to not having the same requisites to take on for example positions of power. We have a strong believe that if the topic of human representation can be enlightened in preschools and schools, teachers can work towards offering all children the same potential for positive identification in preschool.

We live in a world where the resources are not equally divided and that is why charity work is needed. The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, is a global organization that works for children’s human rights around the world. But perhaps even charity work, which´s often glorified in the society, need to be looked at from different directions. Research about intercultural education, globalization and charity shows that even good deeds can end up reproducing the problem that was supposed to be solved in the first place. There is no research about UNICEF´s work from this perspective and since UNICEF is a global organization that focuses on children and education and has an important role in society, they are an interesting object for research. That is why this study has examined “UNICEF Annual Report 2013” based on the problem to draw attention to minorities exposure and discrimination, without reproducing the majorities global hegemony. The questions that drove this study were which knowledge that was spread about the children and UNICEF in UNICEF´s report, what agency this knowledge enabled and which voices that were heard in the report. “UNICEF Annual Report 2013” was examined based on Faircloughs (1992) critical discourse analysis and three-dimensional method and the text, discursive practice and social practice of the report were analyzed. As a theoretical framework postcolonial theory and especially Gayatri Spivak where used due to their focus on global inequalities and the idea that there is still an ongoing colonialism of human thoughts and intellects around the world, where the European epistemology has been spread as a universal truth (Andreotti, 2011; Spivak, 2004). In “UNICEF Annual Report 2013” three different discourses where located: “Childrendiscourse”, “Educationdiscourse” and “Charitydiscourse”. The result of the critical discourse analysis showed that children are portrayed as innocent victims that only get an ability to change their life through the education that charity organizations like UNICEF provide. The knowledge about the child that gets an agency and voice through education can be criticized from a postcolonial perspective. The picture of the educated child indicates that UNICEF are able to see the children that can´t be seen and hear the voices that can´t be heard, which may lead to a contra productive dream about a local hero created by a European epistemology. Research about the ability to draw attention to minorities exposure and discrimination, without reproducing the majorities global hegemonies indicates that there is no easy solution to this dilemma. As postcolonial theory and intercultural education promotes, everyone needs to approach this problem and question the position that they speak from, otherwise they may end up reproducing the majorities global hegemony and the dilemma that they wanted to solve in the first place.

Many scholarly and policy evaluations of governance in Uganda have blamed limited commitment to democracy in the country squarely on the shoulders of state leaders. This dissertation considers a broader range of explanations and raises questions about the limited understanding of democracy expressed in the prevailing literature. It does so by considering historical contexts, international and global structures, and the relationship between local political cultures and the contested concept of democracy. Claims about democracy and good governance, it suggests, are used to justify very narrow procedural prescriptions for the domestic state on the basis of a systematic neglect of Uganda’s specific political history and the structural contexts in which the Ugandan state can act. More specifically, this dissertation engages with one of the key controversies in the literature on the politics of development, that concerning the degree to which accounts of democracy favoured by the most powerful states should guide attempts to create democratic institutions elsewhere. It argues that at least some of the factors that are often used to explain the failure of democracy in Uganda can be better explained in terms of two dynamics that have been downplayed in the relevant literature: competition between different understandings of how democracy should be understood in principle; and the international conditions under which attempts to impose one specific account of democracy - multiparty representation – have marginalized other possibilities. These dynamics have undermined processes that arguably attempt to construct forms of democracy that respond to very specific socio-cultural conditions. Fundamental disputes about how democracy should be understood are already familiar from the history of democracy in Western societies, where struggles to impose some forms of democracy over others have defined much of the character of modern politics. The importance of the international or global dimension of democratic politics has received less attention, even in relation to Western societies, but is especially significant in relation to Africa’s political history and its position in the world. After reviewing the history of struggles over forms of governance in Uganda, this dissertation explores a series of unique open-ended interviews carried out in 2009 with important political actors in Uganda. On this basis, it argues for the ongoing centrality both of the always contested character of democracy and of attempts to impose particular accounts of democracy through internationalised and globalised structures. An appreciation of both dynamics, especially in the historical context that has been downplayed in much of the literature, offers a better scholarly ground on which to evaluate contemporary politics in Uganda than the choice between multiparty systems and dictatorship that remains influential in discussions of the Ugandan case. Such an appreciation is in keeping with important recent attempts to think about the possibilities of democracy in Uganda in postcolonial terms and to resist the forms of neocolonial politics that are examined here as a ‘politics of dispensation.’ / Graduate / 0615 / 0616 / sabina@uvic.ca

This thesis will illustrate how the issues of race and social class in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights are main focuses for how Heathcliff is perceived and how they influence his actions. The importance lies in how both issues are main reasons for how Heathcliff is treated. He is not treated primarily because of his social class nor his race, but a mixture of both. The analysis will be done by analysing the text with a postcolonial theorization of imperialism. It will also include the study by Terry Eagleton Myths of Power: A Marxist study on Wuthering Heights and Maja-Lisa von Sneidern’s article “Wuthering Heights and the Liverpool Slave Trade”. Eagleton states that because of Heathcliff’s unknown origin he has no natural social or biological standing and it is these factors that lead to the conflicts in the novel. Eagleton bases his study on a Marxist and capitalistic perspective. He does not consider the racial aspect of Heathcliff’s situation as a main factor. By contrast, von Sneidern’s study focuses on Heathcliff’s undisputed racial otherness and states that the relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff is a mistress-bondsman one. In her analysis, Von Sneidern treats Heathcliff like a slave and only mentions the racial aspects of every situation and conflict in the novel. She does not consider social class as a main factor for the situations and conflicts. This thesis will show how and why both social class and race are important to consider when analysing this novel, with Eagleton’s and von Sneidern’s studies representing some of the studies that have been made on these issues.

This thesis is a postcolonial feminist discourse analysis of Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy. Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy is unique to the world, but it is not the only case of incorporating a gender perspective as a central part of national or international politics. Feminism and gender perspectives are increasingly receiving attention and space in global politics. The Swedish case could therefore inform us about where politics are heading. Previous research on the Feminist Foreign Policy has aimed mainly at examining what it means and what challenges it likely will face. The aim of the analysis is to examine whether and to what extent the discourse of the Feminist Foreign Policy interrelates with gendered postcolonial narratives. Feminist scholars have for decades argued for the need to recognize the ways in which gendered and postcolonial structures are interrelated. Excluding either a gender or postcolonial analysis will convey only part of the problem. The method used is discourse analysis, or more specifically, critical discourse analysis. Discourse is an essential part of our social world. It is both constituted by and constitutive of how we understand our surroundings. Critical discourse analysis in particular is a useful method to illuminate power relations in society and how they are reproduced or countered through discourse. Two opposing ideal types are developed based on ideas from postcolonial theory and postcolonial feminist theory: gendered postcolonial discourse and fully feminist discourse. The ideal types are used in order to measure whether, how and to what extent the Feminist Foreign Policy interacts with gendered postcolonial discourse. The analysis looks at official documents, statements and speeches of different forms issued or produced by the foreign office. Using several texts, with varied aims and settings, the material will arguably be representative of the Feminist Foreign Policy. The results show that the Feminist Foreign Policy cannot be placed exclusively in either ideal type. The texts interrelate with gendered postcolonial discourse, reproducing unequal relations of power. Conversely, other parts of the texts are fully feminist, both transforming discourse and contributing to knowledge about what it can look like when discourse manages to avoid gendered postcolonial narratives.