Keynote speaker: Dr Aristoteles Barcelos Neto, University of East Anglia
This conference will examine how colonial and neocolonial powers have influenced representations of non-Western countries and their peoples in literature, the arts, and the media. This event seeks to investigate how these representations have been instrumental in constructing negative stereotypes, enforcing cultural hierarchies, and sustaining hegemonic narratives that marginalise indigenous, local, and non-Western communities.
Colonial and imperial discourses, as “a cultural domination from abroad” (Da Silva & Matheus, 2024), have long employed literary and artistic productions of Other Non-Western subjects, portraying them as exotic, primitive, or even barbaric. From the portrayal of Native Brazilian Indigenous peoples as cannibals in Early Modern Portuguese colonial literature to the transformation of One Thousand and One Nights through Neoclassical French translations that distorted its original Arabic cultural context, such narratives have served to reinforce Western dominance and justify subjugation.
More recently, in a postcolonial context, various productions continue to operate in the shadows of (neo)colonialism and (neo)imperialism, often carrying colonial overtones (Qiao, 2018). Neocolonial cultural productions, such as the French-directed Emilia Pérez (a film about Mexican drug cartels cast with American actors), continue to generate controversy over who has the authority to tell certain stories and how these depictions are received by the communities they claim to represent. Western agents (e.g. translators, producers, directors, editors, publishers, and reviewers) stillreframe productions from the Global South through a (neo)colonial and (neo)orientalist lens, constructing Western-centric narratives about these works, their countries, and their people. For example, American and British agents often situate Chinese personal stories within Western dominant narratives of a “dark” and “dystopian” China, translating them according to their hegemonic standards (Tan, 2024).
The conference will also examine the mechanisms through which (neo)colonial powers have influenced literary, artistic, and media portrayals of non-Western subjects, as well as their impacts on their self-identification. We seek to explore questions such as:
- How have colonial and imperial powers historically Other-ed Indigenous, local, and non-Western populations through literature, arts, and media, and in what ways do contemporary neocolonial narratives continue toperpetuate (dis)similar stereotypes?
- What narratives and images are (re)framed, and what methods and strategies have been used to construct these negative representations?
- How have the (neo)colonial situation of “special” or “overseas” territories, such as Puerto Rico in the US, or New Caledonia in France, been portrayed, and how have non-Western agents (e.g. writers, translators, artists, and filmmakers) resisted it?
- How have different territories been variably or unilaterally represented by their former colonial powers in media and literature, and what are the enduring consequences of colonial cultural influence and hegemony in their former colonial metropoles?
As an interdisciplinary conference, we aim to capture the attention of scholars examining (neo)colonial representations and how perceptions of the Others are shaped through various media.
This conference is tailored for national and international scholars, students, and early-career researchers interested in Literature, Art, Cultural Studies, History, Philosophy, Sociology, etc. As our conference will follow the Society for Latin American Studies’ Climate Action Plan, we also warmly invite colleagues to endorse the BPA/SWIP Good Practice Scheme and follow the BPA Environmental Travel Policy.
The conference will take place in person at the University of Warwick on May 30th, 2026. For further information concerning the organisers, contact details, conference venue and terms and conditions, please consult this link.
Image credit: Desembarque de Pedro Alvares Cabral em Porto Seguro em 1500 by Oscar Pereira da Silva (1865 – 1939), Wikimedia Commons.
