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France and the Memories of "Others": The Case of the Harkis
- History & Memory
- Indiana University Press
- Volume 24, Number 1, Spring/Summer 2012
- pp. 152-177
- 10.2979/histmemo.24.1.152
- Article
- Additional Information
Historical narratives help construct social identities, which are maintained through differentiation between in-groups and "others." In this article, we contend that Fatima Besnaci-Lancou's texts, as well as her reconciliation work—in which she enjoins Beurs and Harkis' offspring to write a new, inclusive, polyphonic narrative of the Algerian War—are an example of the positive use of textually mediated identity (re)construction. Her work suggests the possibility of implementing a moderate politics of empathetic recognition of the (often migration-related) memories of "others" so as to reinforce French national belongingness.