A Postcolonial Study Of Educational Discourse In Sherman Alexie’s Novels

Sherman Alexis,a contemporary Native American novelist,is deeply concerned with the survival and development of Indians.Many of his works are related to issues of Indian education.His early works Reservation Blues and Indian killer emphasize the irreconcilability of the conflict between Indians and American whites,while his later work The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian puts forward the theme of the harmonious coexistence of the two races.This change of thematic concern is partly reflected in his attention to the education of two races.Through examining the educational discourse of the Indian community（Spokane reservation）and white society in which contradiction and resistance are interwoven,the thesis argues that in Alexie’s three novels,the protagonists have experienced three stages: the disintegration of Indian educational discourse,the assimilation of white mainstream discourse,and the reconstruction of Indian educational discourse.The thesis consists of five parts.The Introduction firstly introduces the author and his works.Secondly,it presents the literature review at home and abroad.Lastly,it introduces Homi Bhabha’s third space theory related to the perspective and method of the study.In addition to Introduction and Conclusion,the thesis is comprised of three chapters.The first chapter analyzes the reasons and manifestations of the disintegration of Indian educational discourse.These three novels all expose the influence of colonization on Indian educational discourse.Indian education discourse represents a system of statement that can be made about the world,culture,tribe or family relations.The colonists’ deprivation of land and the sale of alcohol not only destroy the completeness of this discourse,but also impoverish Indians,result in the breakup of the family,and weaken the root of Indian traditional education.The second chapter discusses the Indian assimilation by white mainstream discourse.In Indian Killer and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian,Indians are unfairly treated in educational institutions set up by white Americans,and authoritative people represented by white elites spread false information about Indians to the public,which strengthens their stereotype in the mainstream society.The third chapter explores the reconstruction process of Indian educational discourse.In Reservation Blues and Indian Killer,Thomas and Marie resolutely resist the slander and discrimination of mainstream discourse in order to defend the Indian educational tradition.In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian,the protagonist Arnold shuttles between the Spokane reservation and the white community.In the collision of different cultures,he realizes the differences between Indian culture and white mainstream culture,and in a third space which is full of hybridity,attempts to explore a way to coexist with white mainstream groups by means of translation and negotiation.He also improves himself through education,which would create new opportunities for reconstructing the Indian identity through educational discourse.The conclusion summarizes the reasons,manifestations and reconstruction process of Indian educational discourse in the three novels,and points out that on the premise of maintaining their national traditions,contemporary Indians should take the initiative to integrate into the mainstream society,striving to continuously enhance educational awareness and to expand educational rights.By this way,they can discover ways out of the identity crisis and cultural dilemma.