The postcolonialist approach represents an interdisciplinary discourse related to the history and consequences of colonialism, postcolonialism, and neocolonialism. Some of the most important representatives of postcolonialism are: Frantz Fanon, Edward Said, Gayatri Spivak, Paulo Freire, and Homi Bhaba. 

French philosopher and essayist Franz Fanon was born in Martinique, then a French colony, and now a part of France, in the Caribbean Sea. After the Second World War, he moved to France, where he graduated in psychiatry. The experience of colonialism and French domination shaped his views, and he was also influenced by the philosophical works of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Marx, and Jean-Paul Sartre. In his book Black Skin, White Masks (1967, in French 1952), Fanon presents the consequences of French colonialization on the African population in Martinique. His approach contains an existentialist, psychological, and socio-economic analysis of colonial relations. Socio-economic inequalities and racist teachings about the backwardness of African culture have led to the development of low-value complexes among the black population of Martinique, but also to their need to "whitewash". Having been taught that black skin color indicates backwardness and that the Creole version of the French language is shameful, the African population of Martinique tended to wear "white masks". They suffered from insecurity, self-blame, and despair. To escape from such a psychological state, Africans aspired to adopt the French language and culture and to marry "white" women, in order to achieve a sense of self-worth.

American literary and political theorist Edward Said is best known for his critique of Orientalism and for creating an interdisciplinary field of post-colonial studies. In his book Orientalism (1978), Said uses the theories of Gramsci and Foucault to explore the way the Orient was portrayed in Western culture, from ancient to modern times. He studies the depictions of the Orient given by travel writers, colonial administrators, military leaders, writers, artists, and others. Said sees the creation of knowledge and stereotypical images of the Orient in the West as a discourse in Foucault's sense. Representations of the Orient by Westerners are discursive practices that fixate on the meaning of the objects through which knowledge and truth are arrived at. Fixing the meaning of the Orient has four main consequences.

The first is to create an image of the eternal, static, and homogeneous Orient. The second is to portray the Orient as the "Other", which is essentially opposed to the West, and the main opposition is that the Orient tends to create Eastern despotisms, while the West is prone to democracy. The Orient is presented as something that is a constant danger to the West and its values. The third consequence is the creation of limitations in what can be said, thought, and done about the Orient. In this way, Orientalism creates intellectual and cultural means for the colonization of the Orient by the West. Orientalism directly influenced the political attitude of the West towards the Orient. In the end, the last consequence is that Orientalism prevents the productive exchange and interrelations of the West and the East. Said believes that the earlier discourse of Orientalism must be overcome by emphasizing the universal human values ​​of all cultures, but also by respecting and understanding cultural differences, both between the West and the Orient, and differences within the Orient itself.

Indian-American literary critic and gender theorist Gayatri Spivak's study of literature, feminism, and colonialism were most influenced by the deconstructivism of Jacques Derrida and Marxist theory. In her works, she strives to break the hegemonic practice by which Western thought justified and rationalized European colonization, exploitation, and domination. She also criticizes how Western feminists portrayed the position of women in "third world" countries. Spivak deconstructed nineteenth-century English literature and showed that this literature justified colonial rule by claiming that England was the bearer of civilization and progress. Spivak used her own experience to provide a new perspective on issues of colonialism and racism, gender and sexuality, capitalism and class relations, and culture and religion.

Brazilian educator Paulo Freire authored several influential books, including Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970) and Education for Critical Consciousness (1973). Freire's work focused on the empowerment of marginalized and oppressed communities through education. He believed that education should not be a tool of domination but rather a means of liberation. According to Freire, traditional education systems were designed to maintain the status quo, reproduce existing power structures created by the colonizers, and maintain the oppression of the marginalized. He called for a radical reimagining of education that would challenge these power structures and allow for the liberation of the oppressed.

Freire's most famous concept is that of "conscientization" (conscientizacao). This term refers to the process by which individuals become aware of their own oppression and develop the critical consciousness necessary to challenge it. He states that only through critical consciousness or "conscientization", material, and psychic decolonization can start. He argued that the education system should focus on developing critical consciousness, rather than simply imparting knowledge. This would involve creating a dialogue between students and teachers, where both parties learn from each other and engage in critical reflection on their experiences.

Books: 

Bhaba, Homi. The Location of Culture (1994);

Fanon, Frantz. Black Skin, White Masks (2008, in French 1952);

Freire, Paulo. Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1972);

Said, Edward. Orientalism (1978);                                          

     -     Covering Islam: How the Media and the Experts Determine How We See the Rest of the World (1981);  

     -     Culture and Imperialism (1993);

     -     Nationalism, Colonialism, and Literature (1998);

Spivak, Gayatri. Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture (1988);

     -     The Post-Colonial Critic (1990);

     -     A Critique of Postcolonial Reason (1999).