Africa and France
Postcolonial Cultures, Migration, and Racism

Dominic Thomas (Author)

9780253006707

Paperback / softback, published 20 March 2013

344 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 2.8 cm, 0.499 kg

"A hugely impressive piece of scholarship by a leading figure in the field of French Studies who has carved out a position over the past decade as perhaps the most authoritative voice in U.S. academia on relations between France and its former sub-Saharan African colonies."—David Murphy, University of Stirling
"The work's versatility and multitudinal approach that encompasses literature, film, and museum exegesis as well as ethnographical analyses of contemporary French/Francophone societies illuminate important issues of Frenchness and national identity."—Didier Gondola, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis
"Overall, this is an excellent book. . . . One might regret that not much attention is paid to the African side of the postcolonial Franco-African world. But if the aim of the book was to "complicate French and European debates on identity and singularity", there is no doubt that this incisive study has brilliantly succeeded."—Journal of West African History
"Africa and France constitutes essential reading for anyone investigating the debates surrounding contemporary French identity and the ever-changing relationship between France and her former colonial possessions."—African Studies Bulletin
"[A]n impressive piece of scholarship . . . well written. Therefore, I strongly recommend it to university libraries, academic departments in the field of French studies, and scholars and students of African studies.Winter 2015"—Africa Today
"[This book's] astonishing breadth and documentation make it a worthwhile read for anyone interested in France's colonial legacy today."—Intl Journal of African Historical Studies
"Africa and France . . . is a tour de force, a thorough analysis in which Thomas examines the French empire, culture, and society as a single unit of analysis. . . . This book is a tremendous contribution and must-read for students of francophone studies, diaspora studies, and postcolonial studies."—Journal of African History
"Africa and France is a noteworthy contribution to our current understanding of the impact of globalization on discussions of national identity and the construction of frameworks of social belonging.46.1 Spring 2015"—Research in African Literatures

This stimulating and insightful book reveals how increased control over immigration has changed cultural and social production in theater, literature, and even museum construction. Dominic Thomas's analysis unravels the complex cultural and political realities of long-standing mobility between Africa and Europe. Thomas questions the attempt to place strict limits on what it means to be French or European and offers a sense of what must happen to bring about a renewed sense of integration and global Frenchness.

Acknowledgments
Introduction: France and the New World Order
1. Museology and Globalization: The Quai Branly Museum
2. Object/Subject Migration: The National Centre for the History of Immigration
3. Sarkozy's Law: National Identity and the Institutionalization of Xenophobia
4. Africa, France, and Eurafrica in the Twenty-First Century
5. From mirage to image: Contest(ed)ing Space in Diasporic Films (1955–2011)
6. The "Marie NDiaye Affair," or the Coming of a Postcolonial évoluée
7. The Euro-Mediterranean: Literature and Migration
8. Into the European "Jungle": Migration and Grammar in the New Europe
9. Documenting the Periphery: The French banlieues in Words and Film
10. Decolonizing France: National Literatures, World Literature, and World Identities
Notes
Bibliography
Index