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Between political economy and postcolonial theory: first encounters
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Since the late 1970s, postcolonial theory has flourished across various disciplines, and has evolved into an institutionalised force in academic life (Lazarus, 2004; Parry, 2004). Although, at its beginning its perceived association was mostly with literary and cultural studies, currently the influence of postcolonial theory can be said to encompass disciplines such as geography, anthropology, political science as well as sociology. In short, in a period of about three decades postcolonial theory has swept through the spectrum of social sciences and humanities. In this period of significant intellectual transformation, economics proved to be the discipline most resistant to change. This intransigence is partly conditioned by the history of the discipline, its place in the evolution and spread of capitalism through colonialism and imperialism, and, without a doubt, its self-perception as a ‘science’, all of which need to be understood, theorised and transformed. This symposium was inspired in part by that