Unforgetting Colonialism: A Critical Content Analysis of Indian American Immigrants in Middle Grade Novels

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 4:15 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Unforgetting the Past and Re-Remembering the Future: Colonial, Postcolonial, and Historical Perspectives on Children’s Literature

Abstract

This study, a critical content analysis, examines 14 middle grade novels about Indian American immigrant families using postcolonialism as a theoretical lens. The findings indicate that characters in some books possess a colonial mentality, a form of internalized oppression in which one’s own cultural group is viewed as inferior. Characters demonstrated a colonial mentality by feeling embarrassed about Indian culture, making attempts to assimilate with the white dominant group, distancing themselves from other Indian Americans, and accepting dominant group beliefs. The study is significant because it addresses two undertheorized topics in children’s literature research, Indian Americans and colonial mentality, and suggests the importance of addressing colonial mentality, an ongoing consequence of colonialism, in educational spaces.

Author

• Danielle Sachdeva, University of North Georgia