Approaches to Teaching the Works of Assia Djebar ed. by Anne Donadey (review)

Assia Djebar is widely regarded as one of the most prominent female authors from the Maghreb. In North America, her work is often taught in courses that aim to explore francophone literature as well as texts of postcolonial women writers and women of color. Approaches to Teaching the Works of Assia Djebar, the volume edited by Anne Donadey, contains Djebar's short bio-bibliography, a list of primary and secondary resources and presents various paths to study the Djebarian oeuvre.

In the section "Historiographical Approaches", Martine Guyot-Bender demonstrates a variety of practices and exercises (historical contextualization, close reading, etc.) that prepare students whose first language is not French to study L'amour, la fantasia (1985). Najat Rahman introduces her French-speaking audience to the same text by exploring the general theme of reclaiming ruptured identity, which subsequently leads to the lively discussion on colonialism, questions of gender and representation. Mildred Mortimer notes that introduction of the historical background as well as anticolonial and feminist perspectives enable students to engage with Djebarian work in more personal way and to reflect on problems that they find relevant, such as women's rights or the war in Syria. While working on Loin de Médine (1991), Hanan Elsayed finds it beneficial to discuss sources of inspiration, to provide historical context and the activities that rely on close comparison of the traditional Islamic texts with Djebar's writing.

Diya Abdo and Maria Bobroff present an interdisciplinary approach and propose a rich array of activities (comparison of Delacroix's and Picasso's paintings or introduction to Western and Maghrebi fantasia) that will enable student learners to explore Femmes d'Alger dans leur appartement (1980) and L'amour, la fantasia. Similarly, Thérèse De Raedt offers her students tools to analyze the relationship between images and Djebarian writings, as well as an overview of French invasion of Algeria and orientalism. To aid the analysis and promote understanding of Djebar's work, Christa Jones uses diverse documents such as photographs, articles, interviews, and films, etc., to shed light on the political situation in Algeria. Dominique Fisher encourages reflection on the fictional and documentary aspects of La femme sans sepulture (2002) and La disparition de la langue française (2003) (studied in conjunction with other texts and films on related subject matter) while with Annica Schjött Vonèche's guidance, students focus on identifying and unraveling some of the most common myths regarding Franco-Algerian relationships.

The third section expands on interdisciplinary studies by considering Djebar's oeuvre in dialog with other authors and in broader context. In order to discover the intertextual dimension of Djebar's essays and short stories, Kathryn Lachman suggests examining them alongside the works of Camus, Daoud, Allouache, and Djaout. Dana Strand pairs Djebar's writing with texts by Cixous and Delbo that also deal with trauma, memory and personal experience, only to point out that diversity of perceptions can complicate the notion of truthfulness. And Vlatka Velčić argues for the consideration of Djebar's work "in comparative contexts—transcultural, transhistorical and transnational" (112) alongside authors from around the world who ponder upon similar issues.

In the final part, Carine Bourget focuses on breaking stereotypes and misconceptions in regards to Islam and women's position within it. To promote an intercultural dialogue, she also suggests reading certain Djebarian texts along with biblical and Qur'anic excerpts. In Valérie Budig-Markin's classroom, the dialogue between cultures is being continued on a deeper level when student learners are invited to consider the issues discussed in Djebar's texts—such as displacement, ruptured identity, or separated families—through their own personal experiences. Maya Boutaghou, on the other hand, takes a closer look at Djebar's writing and presents a detailed analysis of her unique style that draws from Berber and Arabic, incorporating, for example, syntactic structures not proper to...