Rethinking Indigeneity and the New Wave of Indigenous Studies in Contemporary English Literature: A Survey on Contemporary Indigenous Literary Studies

Abstract

Indigeneity has gained interest among scholars in many fields including literature. However, the interest mostly derives from those who have not experienced the life of the indigenous and are governed by different sets of ideologies and worldviews. In the field of literary studies, this problem is sometimes accentuated in post-colonial studies in a similar manner to Oriental Studies and Subaltern Studies; that is, the indigenous literary works are not only studied by outsiders but are also perceived as opposite to existing hegemonic norms, leading to the misconception of indigeneity offered by scholars to the public eyes. Therefore, this article aims to introduce examples of how experts and writers specializing in indigenous, region-based studies tackle the problem of representation. Methods used by scholars and writers in the field will be introduced to show how indigenous literary studies has developed.