Postcolonialism and IPCS

The spectre of colonialism still haunts the world, despite assertions about the end of formal colonial control and the rise of democracy and universal human rights. The aim of the Institute of Postcolonial Studies is to understand and undo the continuing legacies of colonialism today: dispossession, displacement, racism, and intercultural violence. In particular, this entails understanding social and economic pressures and cultural prejudices faced by indigenous peoples and impoverished communities, supporting those facing the consequences of political upheaval and violence, and generating dialogue across worlds of continuing and often positive cultural difference.

The Institute fosters new alliances between community-based individuals, groups, organisations, and academics. It has two patrons—Justice Anthony North and Robyn Archer. Membership is local and international, and open to people from all walks of life.

The objectives of the Institute are to:

• Support efforts towards reconciliation between indigenous, settler, and migrant peoples;
• Understand the causes and experience of migration, refugee movement, and displacement;
• Promote public debate on the injustices of cultural and economic dispossession;
• Question racism and ethnic prejudice;
• Challenge xenophobia and excision of political and human rights;
• Foster innovative research and collaborative action on environmental and cultural sustainability;
• Encourage new modes of philanthropic and public engagement that move beyond individual, corporate, or parochial interests.

The Institute engages in activities that encompass academic inquiry, public debate, and artistic expression. Over the past decade, IPCS has:

• Fostered international connections and exchanges with academic institutions and independent scholars committed to similar aims across Australia and the Indian and Pacific Oceans
• Established a strong intellectual reputation through its Journal of Postcolonial Studies, and its book series Writing Past Colonialism with the University of Hawai’i Press
• Organised conferences, seminars, visual and performance art relating to its objectives
• Created a convivial space for public discussions on indigenous claims, refugees, and human rights
• Supported collaborations between university academics and public intellectuals in pursuing innovative research on security and insecurity in International Relations