Description
Book SynopsisBorn in 1920 on the edge of Tunis’s Jewish quarter, the French-Jewish-Tunisian sociologist, philosopher, and novelist Albert Memmi has been a central figure in colonial and postcolonial studies. Often associated with the anticolonial struggles of the 1950s and 1960s, Memmi’s career has spanned fifty years, more than twenty book-length publications, and hundreds of articles that are distilled in this collection.
The Albert Memmi Reader presents Memmi’s insights on the legacies of the colonial era, critical theories of race, and his distinctive story. Memmi’s novels and essays feature not only decolonial struggles but also commentary on race, the psychology of dependence, and what it means to be Jewish.
This reader includes selections from his classic works, such as
The Pillar of Salt and
The Colonizer and the Colonized, as well as previously untranslated pieces that punctuate Memmi’s literary life and career, and
Trade Review"Jonathan Judaken and Michael Lejman, the editors of The Albert Memmi Reader, have done an amazing job at capturing the plurality of viewpoints and voices that constitute Memmi's long and storied intellectual career."—Jeffrey A. Bernstein, Society
"This reader is a most welcome addition to the slowly growing English-speaking archive of non-English postcolonial critics and thinkers and an especially welcome addition to the archive of non-English modern Jewish thinkers now more readily available in English. Memmi represents a fresh and inspiringly challenging voice that should no longer be ignored."—Willi Goetschel, H-Nationalism
“Memmi’s opus, presented as it is here, allows readers access to the literary trajectory of a distinguished writer and will breathe new life into current scholarship and teaching on colonialism, literature, theory, and Jewish history. A beautiful dialogue emerges, one that places Memmi’s ideas in conversation with himself and with readers in new and exciting ways.”—James D. Le Sueur, author of
Uncivil War: Intellectuals and Identity Politics during the Decolonization of Algeria and director of the film
The Art of Dissent“This volume makes an extremely important contribution to numerous fields. Memmi’s work is of critical importance for postcolonial studies, Jewish studies, and studies in comparative racism; his is an exceptional and unique voice that adds nuance, detail, and depth to scholarship on North Africa and the Middle East, the Israel/Palestine question, and even contemporary issues of migration.”—Lia Nicole Brozgal, author of
Against Autobiography: Albert Memmi and the Production of TheoryTable of ContentsAcknowledgments
Introduction by Jonathan Judaken
1. Biographical Reflections
Sea and Sun (1967)
Growing Up as a Minority Child
The Stationary Nomad (2000)
The Land Within: Interview by Victor Malka (1976)
Tunisia, a Minor-League Country: The State of Affairs (1955–56)
Tunisian Diaries, 1955–56
Preface to Portrait of a Jew (1971)
Interview with Albert Memmi by Dov Maimon (2007)
The Fecundity of Exile (2003)
Passport for a Hoped Immortality (2007)
2. The Pillar of Salt (1953)
The City
The Blind Alley
The Sabbath
Old Clothes
High School
The Choice
The Others
The War
The Inventory
3. Strangers (1955)
4. The Colonizer and the Colonized (1957)
Preface to the 1965 Edition
Does the Colonial Exist?
Camus, or the Colonizer of Good Will (La Nef) (1957)
Switching Perspective
Mythical Portrait of the Colonized
Conclusion
5. Portrait of a Jew (1962)
Revolution and Zionism (1947)
Why I Wrote Portrait of a Jew
The Problem
The Difference
The Myth
The Shadowy Figure
Conclusion—The Oppressed
Little Portrait of a Jew (1967)
6. The Liberation of the Jew (1966)
Preface
Does the Jew Exist?
Assimilation
Self-Hatred
The Encystment
Sanctuary Values
Is There a Jewish Culture?
The Jew and the Revolution
The Way Out
Response of Albert Memmi to Richard Marienstras (1966)
Preface to the Israeli Edition (1976)
7. Dominated Man (1968)
Why I Wrote Dominated Man (1969)
The Paths of the Revolt
A Total Revolt
The Negro and the Jew (1968)
The Impossible Life of Frantz Fanon (1971)
The New Slaves
A Tyrant’s Plea
Letter to Sally N’Dongo (1970)
8. The Scorpion, or The Imaginary Confession (1969)
Uncle Makhlouf—1 (Notes for a Portrait)
My Travels
9. Jews and Arabs (1974)
Questions for Colonel Kadhafi
What Is an Arab Jew?
The Colonized Jew
Justice and Nation
The Arab Nation and the Israeli Thorn
Israel
10. The Desert, Or the Life and Adventures of Jubair Wali Al-Mammi (1977)
What Historians Have to Say
What Historians Add
11. Dependence (1979)
Introduction
Fanaticism
Appendix: A Definition of Dependence
12. Racism (1982)
An Attempt at a Definition (1964)
What Is Racism? (1972)
Racism and Colonization
Racism and Anti-Semitism
Treatment
13. Literary Reflections
For a Novel of Meaning (1959)
Introduction to Anthology of Maghrebi Writers in French (1964)
A Literature of Separation: Introduction to Anthology of French Writers of the Maghreb (1969)
Preface to Francophone Writers of the Maghreb: An Anthology (1985)
What Language to Write In?: The Literary Homeland of the Colonized (1996)
Emergence of a Maghrebi Literature in French: The 1954 Generation (2001)
14. Decolonization and the Decolonized (2004)
The Decolonized Man (1967)
Fundamentalisms and Secularism (1989)
Decolonization and the Decolonized Postface to the Pocket Edition (2004)
Decolonization and the Decolonized Selections
Elias Levy: An Exclusive Interview with Albert Memmi (2012)
Interview by Fériel Berraies Guigny (2008)
Source Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
