식민지 교육의 연속성에 대한 관점과 식민주의의 ‘근대성’에 대한 논의

Abstract

This paper critically reappraises the dominant perspectives on the legacy of colonial education. It argues that arguments that counter imperialism should challenge the legitimacy of "(Western) modernity," to the degree that they deconstruct its basic assumptions on which modern imperialism/colonialism has been grounded. Colonialism has been featured as a backlash to the indigenous effort on the part of Koreans prior to the forced annexation in 1910. Recently, this perspective has been challenged by the proponents of the so-called "colonial modernization" thesis, which include a wide range of scholars varying in their political positions as to the issue of colonial legacy. It is pointed out that despite their differing views on the nature of the colonial legacy, both perspectives somehow share fundamental "modernist" assumptions, which do not "problematize" the legitimacy of the basic "tenets" of Western modernity, such as the Enlightenment, civilization, rationality and the idea of historical progress. This paper suggests that a "postcolonialist" perspective, which deconstructs both the basis of colonialism and the basic assumption of "Western modernity," may have substantial effect, if employed, on the criticism of imperialism/colonialism in the historiography of (post)colonial education.