The readings draw on femnist, post-structuralist, and Marxist theory as well as interventions made in post-colonial studies since Edward Said´s " Orientalism " in 1978. Topics covered in the essays include: slavery, cannibalism, the harem, missionary work, anti-colonial resistance, gender, postmodernism, orality, nationalism and the Rushdie affair. The rader also sets the context for the history of "English" literature in relation to British colonialism as well as the contentious evolution of post-colonial theory over the last twenty years Introduction: Colonial history, National identity and " English " literature. 1. W. Shakespeare: " The tempest " 2. Daniel Defoe: " Robinson Crusoe " 3. Charlotte Brönte: " Jane Eyre " 4. Joseph Conrad: " Heart of darkness " 5. Rudyard Kipling: " Kim " 6. James Joyce: " Ulysses " 7. E. M. Forster: " A passage to India " 8. Salman Rushdie: " The satanic verses "