Discourses of difference

Published by Routledge in 1991, Discourses of Difference was authored by Sara Mills as a significant contribution to the burgeoning field of post-colonial feminist literary criticism. The work emerged from the intellectual climate of the late 1980s and early 1990s, when scholars were increasingly focused on deconstructing the intersections of gender, imperialism, and colonial representation. Mills sought to challenge the ways in which Western women writers, particularly those documenting travels in colonial contexts, were often overlooked or romanticized by traditional historical narratives.

The book is structured around an analysis of how female travel writers participated in the production of colonial discourse, arguing that these women were not merely peripheral to the imperial project but actively engaged in shaping its ideologies. Through a detailed examination of textual analysis and discourse theory, Mills aimed to provide a methodology for reading colonial texts that accounted for the specific constraints placed on women writers of the period. The text was well-received within academic circles for its rigorous approach to linguistic and literary theory, becoming a foundational reference for students and scholars navigating gendered perspectives in colonial literature.