by Nathan Scharn
November 19, 2007

Students, faculty, staff and community members filed into Colt Hall last Monday afternoon for a panel discussion forum on postcolonialism called “White Man’s Burden?”

The attendance turnout exceeded the organizers’ expectations and left many people sitting on the floor, standing in the doorways or even standing in adjacent rooms.

Scholars from different fields of study discussed postcolonialism, the philosophical, literary and film theories dealing with the cultural legacy of colonial rule.

The panel comprised five professors from five academic disciplines: Jamie Gates, professor of sociology and anthropology; Fru Festus Ndeh, professor of literature; Diana Reynolds, professor of history; Heather Ross, professor of philosophy; and John Wright, professor of theology.

Literature professor Karl Martin moderated the discussion.

The event was coordinated by Ndeh, an expatriate from Cameroon, and was sponsored by the Center for Justice and Reconciliation as a “Brewed Awakening,” the title for many discussion forums supported by the CJR.

People attended the forum for many reasons, ranging from their own curiosity to extra credit opportunities..

“I was pleased by the turnout and the number of faculty that took the time and offered extra credit to be there,” Gates said.

Ndeh organized the forum, he said, because he saw a need to address postcolonialism in a campus-wide manner from a variety of academic perspectives.

“There is just a clarion call to take part in such forums, because there is always a lot to take away from such discussion,” Ndeh said. “If we continue to attend some of these discussions and make them useful to the way in which we behave in society—in community—society would be a better place.”

Some thought that the arguments presented by those on the panel, including a feministic frame of analysis on colonialism and postcolonialism, were a bit farfetched.

“Colonialism and feminism are not the same,” junior Ben Powers said after the forum, commenting on some of Reynolds’ discourse.

The discussion did not provide answers as much as it raised questions. The forum ended when a black audience member confronted those in attendance by saying that “white folks” have a poor record in relating to others, posing the question, “What are you gonna do about that?”

Wright, who said his discipline was “God,” said he was asked to sit on the panel because he was a well-known critic of the modern nation-state.

The university is “the most vicious colonial institution in the universe,” a colleague remarked to Wright after the forum. Wright agreed.

“We’re trying to make you fit into patterns that help the world run,” he said, elaborating on the idea that the university is an institution that exists to colonize the minds of its students, according to his definition of colonialism.

As all of the scholars on the panel, Wright did not offer any advice for those in attendance to make right the wrongs of colonialism in what some call a postcolonial world, but rather, expressed a desire rarely addressed by humanitarian organizations.

“I’m an advocate for the life of the church to muddle its way through,” he said.
The event left many students frustrated and confused, yet glad that they could be a part of such a discussion.

“I thought [the forum] was good, but they didn’t define colonialism,” sophomore Kasey Zapatka said.

He said that he had difficulty making sense of the postcolonial discourse because he did not have a sufficient knowledge of colonialism.

“If there is one more thing I would’ve added, it would’ve been a primer on formal colonialism,” Gates said after the discussion.

Ndeh had composed a handout with terms and definitions to help clarify the dialogue on colonialism and postcolonialism; however, he had only made 55 copies, so they were distributed to those who came first.

Ndeh plans to make the “White Man’s Burden?” forum biannual, occurring once every semester. At this point, the postcolonialism discussion for the spring semester will focus on multiculturalism Ndeh said. The date and location have not been announced.