White Mythologies

by Robert J.C. Young

In 1990, Robert Young's White Mythologies set out to question the very concepts of history and the West. Is it possible, he asked, to write history that avoids the trap of Eurocentrism? Is history simply a Western myth? His reflections on these topics provided some of the most important new directions in postcolonial studies and continue to exert a huge influence on the field. This new edition reprints what has quickly become a classic text, along with a substantial new essay reflecting on changes in the field and in the author's own position since publication.
An essential read for all those working in postcolonial theory, literature and history, this book cemented Young's reputation as one of the country's most influential scholars and, as a new preface by Homi Bhabha comments, made an original and invaluable intervention in the field, leading even the most established figures to rethink their own positions. Provoking further re-evaluation with the new introductory essay, this second edition will like its predecessor be a key text for every academic and student in the field.

Genres: History, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Theory, Politics, Race, Contemporary

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Robert J. C. Young FBA (D.Phil, Exeter College, Oxford; born 1950) is a postcolonial theorist, cultural critic, and historian. He is Julius Silver Professor of English and Comparative Literature at New York University, and was Dean of Arts & Humanities at NYU Abu Dhabi, 2015–2018. Previously he was Professor of English and Critical Theory and a fellow of Wadham College, Oxford University, where he was one of the founding editors of the Oxford Literary Review as a grad student. He is currently President of the AILC/ICLA Research Committee on Literary Theory.

Reviews

[Hamad Abdulsamad · Rating 5 out of 5]

أنا عاجز عن التعبير عن إعجابي بمدى المام هذا الكتاب بكتابات مختلفة ومتنوعة بشكل كبير، من غير نقص في تقديم القراءة وتقديم نقد لها. ما أرشدني لهذا النص هو حضوره في هوامش الكثير من الكتب التي أراجعها بين فترة وأخرى، والآن أستوعب أن هذا النص حاضر في النصوص ليس بوصفه المحاور فقط، وإنما الدافع أيضا... هذه ليست مراجعة، وإنما تسجيل للإعجاب فقط... المراجعة ستأتي بشكل قراءة ثانية للملاحظات التي سجلتها، ولا أعتقد بأنها ستكون هنا...

[John · Rating 1 out of 5]

Robert Young basically uses various sources of critiques on historicism having multiple issues (not-original), links it to Eurocentrism (because apparently there were no other schools of thoughts), brings it back on late 20th centurty thinkgs (derrida, foucault, satre) instead of looking at the consensus of histiography at that time. All this adds up to the "critiques" of starting post-colonialism instead of the white marxism that he critcizes intently.

Yet it still doesn't provide any form of explanation what is it that they are "decolonizing" or various form of vague post-structural subaltern studies.

Overall the book was extremely jargonned (when in many cases it didn't have to) with a lack of framework applications on histiography.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't consider myself qualified to "review" this book in its academic context... but 5 stars mostly to signal that I found it incredibly useful and (relatively) accessible; would recommend to people interested in postcolonial theory!

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very dense book with a lot of focus on French theory. Whilst i appreciate the book’s thesis and conclusion on the need for a postcolonial hitosriofrsphy, I don’t understand why only the last 3 chapters dealt with this and the former 6 outlined the Eurocentric history of left-wing mostly French discourses on historicism and materialism. Whilst I can appreciate why this context is necessary for the points Young makes in the later chapters, it results in the book being a slog to get through with long pages of confusing and seemingly irrelevant theory, especially for someone only really interested in the postcolonial criticism like myself.

The book’s thesis is essentially that the historical theories of dialectical materialism, Historicism and/or the Marxist view of History as inevitable and linear, are all Eurocentric and past their used by dates, the first 6 chapters give the outline of these traditional theories, whilst the latter discusses post-historical/materialism, and where to go now that the little debates between European men have rightfully been seen as narrow-minded and too trapped in their own assumptions.

I found the introduction and last 2 pages actually more interesting and valuable than the bulk of the book, as they show the authors thesis and argument rather than just describing and analysing the arguments or other authors. I much prefer someone writing their own theory than just outlining the history of other people’s.

Overall definitely an important book of postcolonial debate that I will refer to in the future.

[Hesam Wf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a treasure chest of insights. Each chapter looks at one scholar and his or her intervention into the ongoing discussion pertaining to the question of whether "world history" is necessarily a Eurocentric concept.

At times, the text is jargon-heavy and if one is unfamiliar with the intricacies of a particular scholar's work, then one may feel lost. I recommend familiarizing oneself with some of the works of scholars like Satre, Jameson, Foucault, Said, Spivak, Bhabha to obtain a cursory understanding of their major theoretical interventions as it pertains to navigating and narrating history.

With such a cursory understanding, one can decently understand Young's summarization of a particular theorist's work, and by extension decently understand Young's commentary on said work. Indeed, Young's commentary is rich and truly does allow for a deeper understanding of the problematics that inform the navigation and narration of the condition and trajectory of "world history." Among other things, Young looks at the forms of accounting for the past that were, and continue to be, delegitimized as a result of the colonial and neocolonial experience, the various lenses through which one can view and understand history, and the oppressive logics that have informed the navigation and narration of the histories of the "other." Young's deliberations on said topics work to flesh-out how the assumption that "world history" is a productive concept relies on an implicit subscription to a Eurocentric understanding of history, the trajectory of humanity, and the condition of non-European cultures.

[Ouafae Sd]

Marked it as-to read

[Neer · Rating 2 out of 5]

A scholarly treatise on the inadequacies of theories dealing with the writing of history.