Periodic Reporting for period 1 - GLOMAG (Global Maghreb: Transnational Recognition and Knowledge of a Postcolonial Literature)
Reporting period: 2021-09-01 to 2023-08-31
Global Maghreb: Transnational Recognition and Knowledge of a Postcolonial Literature offers a groundbreaking approach to the study of Postcolonial literatures and, more generally, literary history, by (1) promoting a genuinely interdisciplinary approach that spans both literary studies and the social sciences (i.e. sociology, history); (2) reframing the “national literature” used in literary studies with a transnational (and multilingual) perspective; and (3) questioning the Postcolonial in the context of Globalization. The objective is to understand the impact of transnational circulation of texts and writers on literary recognition, as well as to historicize the transnationally produced knowledge of these literatures. The research is focused on North-African countries that gained independence from France in the 1950s/1960s (i.e. Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia) and examines them in an international landscape (ie., French, Arabic, English). The work is divided into three case studies. (1) “Transnational intermediation of Maghreb literature” develops a macro understanding of the circulation of texts, using a bibliographical database and interviews with translators and other intermediaries of the transnational circulation, as well as archives of publishing houses and University departements. (2) “Female Maghreb Writers in the USA ” compares the trajectory and reception of three female writers and their work in the USA, depending on their generation and language they write in (French, Arabic, English). (3) “Transnational creation of a national literature” historicizes the nationalization of “Algerian literature” and the exclusion of writers for political (European writers after independence), religious (Jewish writers), ethnic (Black writers) or linguistic (Francophone) reasons, and highlights the ongoing struggles on this literature’s “identity.” The dual objectives of Recognition and Knowledge are inherently political. As such, GLOMAG is an original and effective means to combat (1) global cultural hierarchies, and (2) prejudices regarding so-called “identities” (especially those concerning Muslims).
WP2:
1) Building of a database
2) Interviews with importers of NA Literature
3) Archives of University departments
-> Presentation of the results in Invited talks and conferences
WP3:
1) Archives and Interviews on Assia Djebar
2) Reading of the works of Assia Djebar, Leyla Abouzeid and Laila Lalami
3) Study of the trajectory and reception of these three authors.
-> Presentation of the results in several seminars
WP4:
-Fieldwork in Tunisia, France and USA
-> Writing of a chapter on the Transnationality of the Algerian Literary canon
WP5:
- Linguistic Improvement
- Network Improvement
- Mentoring Improvement
WP6:
- 14 talks (Guest speaker at Tulane and Cornell; 5 major conferences; seminars and Workshop)
- Organisation of a 3-day seminar at a major conference (ACLA)
1) Building of a database
2) Interviews with importers of NA Literature
3) Archives of University departments
-> Presentation of the results in Invited talks and conferences
WP3:
1) Archives and Interviews on Assia Djebar
2) Reading of the works of Assia Djebar, Leyla Abouzeid and Laila Lalami
3) Study of the trajectory and reception of these three authors.
-> Presentation of the results in several seminars
WP4:
-Fieldwork in Tunisia, France and USA
-> Writing of a chapter on the Transnationality of the Algerian Literary canon
WP5:
- Linguistic Improvement
- Network Improvement
- Mentoring Improvement
WP6:
- 14 talks (Guest speaker at Tulane and Cornell; 5 major conferences; seminars and Workshop)
- Organisation of a 3-day seminar at a major conference (ACLA)
WP2:
-> Main result of the Database is to show how Globalization has challenged the centrality of France for its Postcolonial Literature
-> Main result of the Interviews is to understand the motivations of translators of peripheral literatures beyond political issue, and explaining them through their professional commitments.
WP3:
-> Main result is that Women writers, despite being less imported into English than men, enjoy a higher recognition in the USA than North African men, thanks to the commitment of a network of scholars. However their reception is very different depending on several factors, universalising the Anglophone, exoticizing the Arabophone, and literarizing the Francophone.
WP4:
->There is no homogeneous definition of Algerian literature, nor of its literary canon: it is rather the product of transnational debates since the colonial times until today.
-> Main result of the Database is to show how Globalization has challenged the centrality of France for its Postcolonial Literature
-> Main result of the Interviews is to understand the motivations of translators of peripheral literatures beyond political issue, and explaining them through their professional commitments.
WP3:
-> Main result is that Women writers, despite being less imported into English than men, enjoy a higher recognition in the USA than North African men, thanks to the commitment of a network of scholars. However their reception is very different depending on several factors, universalising the Anglophone, exoticizing the Arabophone, and literarizing the Francophone.
WP4:
->There is no homogeneous definition of Algerian literature, nor of its literary canon: it is rather the product of transnational debates since the colonial times until today.