Postcolonialism: the origins and main contradictions of postcolonial theory

The article presents a comprehensive analysis of the main problems of postcolonial discourse. Key theories such as postcolonialism, decolonization of thought and orientalism are considered, as well as other concepts related to this area of research. The main contradictions of postcolonial theory are analyzed and the role and place of postcolonialism in the modern world are determined. It is shown that at this historical stage, postcolonialism is trying to go beyond the bounds of biased knowledge and offer the world a certain model of behavior to overcome the differences between «centers» and «periphery», but so far the direction of this work is rather engaged in recording injustices in societies. To destroy this established attitude to postcolonialism and to provide practical methods of combating inequality are the main tasks of postcolonial researchers.