The journal Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East seeks critical essays for a special issue entitled “Comparative (Post)colonialisms: The Literary Issue.” We are interested in papers that explore comparative perspectives on postcolonial literature and theory, that critically examine the hegemony of colonial languages within postcolonial studies, and that investigate how postcolonial theory might be enriched, critiqued, nuanced, or exposed through the perspectives of non-colonial (indigenous or “lesser taught”) languages, comparative literature, or area studies. How does the field of postcolonial studies as currently constituted in the academy contribute to the linguistic, cultural, or institutional dominance of English? What kinds of texts, discourses, or practices elude, or are repressed by, this framework? What “blind spots” are revealed in postcolonial theory from the perspective of texts or traditions not in a colonizer's language? What ideological or strategic roles do specific languages play in texts, institutional contexts, politics, or history?

Please submit essays of between 5,000 and 12,000 words (note and reference inclusive), by September 15, 2002. Essays should be formatted in Chicago style and use the Library of Congress transliteration system for romanization, without diacritical marks. We prefer electronic submissions to Waïl Hassan (whassan) and Rebecca Saunders (rasaund), though essays may also be submitted in hardcopy to Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, Department of English, Box 4240, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4240. Relevant books for review are also welcome.