Postcolonial Theory and Francophone Literary Studies (review)

In the February 10 issue of Le Monde, Jean Birnbaum announced in a review article titled "La pensée française revient d'Amérique" [French thought returns from America] that French theory has returned to France after a long exile in the United States, "rajeunie et très solicitée, notamment par les études post-coloniales" [rejunvenated and shaken up, especially by postcolonial studies]. The collection of essays by H. Adlai Murdoch and Anne Donaday constitutes in some ways an important outcome of that journey.

Long the domain of anglophone critics, postcolonial theory has nevertheless drawn on French critical theory of the 1960s and 70s. Francophone literary studies, on the other hand, deal with texts from a wide range of countries, not all of them former colonies. Until recently, French critics have tended to reject any notion that postcolonial theory could help them understand the diversity represented by the world of francophonie. This is a problem, note the editors, that is aggravated by the lack of translations of texts from English to French. The social unrest in immigrant communities in France in the fall of 2005 has no doubt helped to hasten the change in attitude toward postcolonial studies in that country.

Here, "po-co" theory flourishes in English departments, while francophone theory is the chasse gardée of French departments and the growing field of francophone studies, an appellation that many departments—including my own—have recently adopted. The editors point out that the fields are "discrete" but "intersecting." The goal in this volume is "to broaden the dialogue."

The essays are organized into four categories: "Rethinking Theoretical Beginnings," "Postcolonialism, Modernity, and French Identities," "Displacing Francophonie: Migration and Transcultural Identities," and "Theorizing the Black Atlantic." Fundamental differences in perspective between the authors, rather than these categories, offer a more effective way to follow the debate that emerges in this volume.

In the opening essay, "Power, Purpose, the Presumptuousness of Postcoloniality, and Franz Fanon's Peau noire, masques blancs," E. Anthony Hurley questions the entire concept of postcoloniality by arguing that the Martinican author needs to be studied not through the "mask" of this overused concept, but through the lens of his anticolonial effort to change the political situation in which he was engaged. Hurley sees the academic adoption of postcoloniality as a tool of analysis that helps determine "who will have power in the neocolonial empires of postcolonial studies" (21). For those who have observed several generations of scholars racing to find a seat on the postcolonialism bandwagon, Hurley's comments come as a long-awaited breath of fresh air.

Two essays illustrate the concerns raised by Hurley. In "A Neglected Precursor: Roland Barthes and the Origins of Postcolonialism," Alex Hargreaves reminds readers that in spite of the lethargy with which French critics took up postcolonialism, Barthes was concerned by the subject as far back as Mythologies. In spite of the critic's role as a pioneer, however, Hargreaves finds it disturbing that Barthes becomes interested in imperialist writers such as Loti. For some critics, Barthes is more of a dabbler than a critic committed to the deepest issues of postcoloniality.

In a contribution on "Nomadic Thought, Postcolonialism, and Maghrebian Writing," John Erickson applies an extensive exploration of nomadic theory to a work by Tahar Djaout. He cites but then downplays warnings from Winifred Woodhull and Christopher Miller, who ask "what has theoretical nomadology to do with real and actual nomads?" Noting a contrast between the lines of Euclidian geometry and the zigzag patterns of nomadic migration, the author argues that "nomadic thought is antilogical in nature" (72). This incredibly essentialist view of nomads goes against generations of field research on migrations of peoples in the Sahara. They have developed complex forms of quite logical indigenous knowledge to enable them to find the water, vegetation, and safe spaces they need to survive in an unforgiving environment. Hurley would no doubt cite this essay as an example of "presumptuousness." [End...