Mary Pratt speech
In her speech, Mary Pratt alludes to several topics. They include Critical theory, Pedagogy, and Colonialism
The critical theory involves the set of ideas and academic assumptions that help to explain literary writings. Pedagogy refers to the practice and theory of learning and how to process influence development, social, and psychological of learners. Colonialism refers to the practice of domination, which includes different people subjugation. These theories help us to comprehend and study literary texts. These topics emerge out on so many occasions in Pratt’s speech, as illustrated below:
Critical theory: Pratt uses the phrase “the contact zone.” She uses this phrase while referring to the colonial encounters space, where people who divided physically and historically come together and start a long-term relationship. It perceives the relations among the colonized and colonizers in terms of copresence. She also uses this phrase when referring to communal spaces where cultures encounter, especially in the setting of power relations like colonialism. She also uses this term to review the community models which most of the people use while teaching today. She uses the contact zone as a contrast with community ideas that mostly underrate thinking about communication, language, and culture, which takes place in school.
Pedagogy: Pratt uses “autoethnographic text.” By this, she refers to writing that people use to describe themselves in customs that involve representations made to them by other people. This has later influenced individuals’ development and psychology after too much thought about what their dominants have presented them.
Colonialism: Pratt uses a case to show how this topic is presented; she says the teacher-pupil relationship is one of the examples. The teacher gives out a task and expects the student to obey, but in turn, the student wishes to resist the assignment. It portrays colonialism in a dominant-subordinate relationship.