Memorializing Decolonization: Focus on the Algerian War

Catalog description

On the 60th anniversary of the Algerian independence, this course will give particular attention to key French-language cultural contributions that participated in the representation and memorialization of the decolonization process in Algeria. As the largest settlement of the French colonial empire and the stage of a brutal and traumatic war, Algeria constitutes a microcosm of choice to examine the historical and political impact of colonization in the past and in the current Francophone World. By comparing works produced during the war and its aftermath with more recent ones, students will engage in contrapuntal dialogues that reveal the multifaceted aspects of memory about the Algerian revolution. In addition to reflections on the use of particular creative genres, such as novels, comic books, films, poems, or paintings, students will explore this historical event from diverse critical frameworks, including ecology, gender, race, and sexuality. Satisfies a major requirement in French and Francophone Studies Satisfies a minor requirement in French and Francophone Studies Satisfies the Literary Thought, Creative Writing, & Rhetoric requirement Satisfies the Cultural Diversity requirement Prerequisites & Notes FRE 220