Africa and France reveals how increased control over immigration has changed cultural and social production, especially in theatre, literature, film, and even museum construction. A hated of foreigners, accompanied by new forms of intolerance and racism, has crept from policy into popular expressions of ideas about the postcolony and ethnic minorities. Dominic Thomas's stimulating and insightful analyses unravel the complex cultural and political realities of longstanding mobility between Africa and Europe and question the attempt at placing strict limits on what it means to be French or European. Thomas offers a sense of what must happen to bring about a renewed sense of integration and global Frenchness.

Black immigration and French cultural identity

About the Author

Dominic Thomas is Professor of Comparative Literature and French and Francophone Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is author of Nation-Building, Propaganda, and Literature in Francophone Africa (IUP, 2002) and Black France: Colonialism, Immigration, and Transnationalism (IUP, 2007).

Reviews

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 *



Book Information
ISBN 9780253006707
Author Dominic Thomas
Format Paperback
Page Count 344
Imprint Indiana University Press
Publisher Indiana University Press
Weight(grams) 454g