Récits du Maghreb postcolonial
This course focuses on the region of North Africa known as the Maghreb : Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia. We will pay particular attention to the way in which Francophone Maghrebi writers, activists, and artists speak, write, and depict this region. Addressing the scars of a violent colonial and postcolonial history, we will question the very notion of a “narrative”. Whose voices are heard and silenced? How does language factor in our representation of this region? What role does fiction play with regards to national or regional identity? What does it mean for a narrative to be “postcolonial”? To answer these questions, we will situate works of art (literature, films, graphic novels, songs) in the context of significant cultural events, governmental policies, and social movements of the 20th and 21st centuries. In doing so, we will examine the specificities and perspectives of Arab, Amazigh, and Jewish communities while addressing major contemporary issues concerning, for example, the Arab Spring/s and its/their aftermath, feminism, political corruption and religion. The course will include works from Kamel Daoud, Leïla Sebbar, Moufida Tlatli and Yamina Benguigui among others.