The Algerian Revolution: Narratives of Land, and Liberation

Catalog description

This course examines the Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962), focusing on how the land played a central role in both the assertion of colonial power and the pursuit of Independence. Engaging with environmental history, indigenous studies, and postcolonial theory, the course investigates how desert, mountains, soils, and borders, among others, became crucial terrains of conflict. With a primary corpus focusing on 20th-century Algerian literature, visual art, films, and other media, students will learn how colonial powers reshaped the land and governed the population through mapping, settlement, and resource extraction, and how Algerians reclaimed that land in the Liberation. By the end of the semester, students will understand the multiple political, social, and cultural stakes of ecologies in the Algerian Revolution and comprehend how the environmental transformations of this period continue to shape Algeria today. Satisfies French and Francophone major and minor requirement. Satisfies a History major and minor requirement. Satisfies Environmental Studies (Humanities track) major and minor requirement. Satisfies Literary Studies, Creative Writing, and Rhetoric requirement. Satisfies Cultural Diversity requirement. Prerequisites & Notes FRE 220