Decolonisation: From a Colonial to a Post-Colonial Interpretation

The denotation of the term “decolonize” is given as follows in the Oxford Dictionary Online:

“(of a State) withdraw from (a colony), leaving it independent” (“Decolonize”, 2018)

The explanation that is given is unusual in several ways. The language that is used appears disjointed – much of the definition is bracketed, and the explanation reads incoherently. It appears to be a draft version of an idea rather than a final, decisive dictionary entry. The definition also ascribes agency to “a State” which enacts the process of decolonization, or “withdraw[al]”, thus leaving the colony in an “independent” state.

According to this phrasing, it is only the colonial power that can withdraw (note the capitalized “State”) and not the colonized territory (written in lowercase, and clearly occupying a passive role), which is also cast as a dependent territory by implication. If we take the dictionary definition at its word, independence is only thus achieved at the behest of the colonial power as it ‘withdraws’. There is no suggestion of revolution here; it is all very orderly and intentional. This is an example of how the totalising power of a dominant narrative can shape the meaning of a term, or set of terms, to match its view of the world.

Artwork Under Fire: The Baholo Collection

The student protests that engulfed campus from March 2015 onward centred around the sculpture of Cecil John Rhodes, but expanded to include other artworks. Colonial-era portraits from Smuts and Fuller Hall, both upper campus residences, were added to a bonfire in the adjoining parking lot and set alight. Perhaps these artworks could be regarded as expected casualties in an escalating fracas that targeted the pervasive culture of ‘whiteness’ and Euro-centric cultural hegemony on campus. The portraits predominantly depicted former white male academics and could be viewed as reinforcing the perception of UCT as fostering a culture of exclusion. But the destruction of artworks by African artists and apartheid-era activists such as Richard Baholo and Molly Blackburn, which were also added to the bonfire, seemed to contradict the movement’s basic tenet and has generated much conjecture.