Postcolonial Reverberations

George’s essay responds to Siba Grovogui’s book Beyond Eurocentrism and Anarchy. It discusses some implications deriving from Grovogui’s critique of international relations discourse from the vantage point of postcolonial literary and cultural criticism. It also explores theoretical directions that the book opens up, specifically as these may enrich interdisciplinary conversations in African studies. Of particular concern is the possibility of moving beyond postcolonial theory’s founding critique of area studies scholarship. Beyond theory’s critique of the geopolitics of utilitarian knowledge production, George asks, how might Africanist literary studies reengage area studies in ways that enrich both disciplines without subordinating the priorities of postcolonial humanities scholarship?