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205th out of 548 books
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382 voters
A Dying Colonialism
An incisive and illuminating account of how, during the Algerian Revolution, the people of Algeria changed centuries-old cultural patterns and embraced certain ancient cultural practices long derided by their colonialist oppressors as primitive, in order to destroy those same oppressors. Fanon uses the fifth year of the Algerian Revolution as a point of departure for an ex...more
Paperback, 181 pages
Published
January 14th 1994
by Grove Press
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A Dying Colonialism is an enquiry, both a philosophical and political polemic, on the state and meaning of conflict that engulfed Algeria in the period of the Algerian war for independence from France. It was first published in France in 1959, while the battles continued in the Casbahs of Algiers, Oran, and Constantine. The conflict had at this point extended rural areas and villages, and this book was written in the context of the unprecedented unity of the Algerian objection to colonialism, ju...more
The first essay, "Algeria Unveiled," is particularly impressive in its discussion of the way in which both traditional Algerian, and modern western, norms of femininity are imprinted on the bodies of Algerian women, and the way in which women involved in the FLN were able to bodily inhabit and alter these norms in the service of the revolution. Fanon's discussion here has much in common with theories of performativity that would later be developed by Foucault and Butler, but where Butler (especi...more
This one doesn't have the same stunning vigor as The Wretched of the Earth, but it is nevertheless passionate and incisive. Here Fanon spends much time analyzing the internal problems and prospects of the Algerian revolution.
I had to read this book for a class I took, and it was hard to get through. I'm planning to reread it eventually and see if my aversion to it was due to it being required reading, or if it really was as bad as I thought it was.
Jan 10, 2009
Roger Cottrell
added it
An important historical document but one which nonetheless fails to explain how the FLN was able to smash the Algerian working class movement to atoms while citing Fanon's anti-colonialism as its ideology
Offers some understanding, or at least a framework, for understanding the rebellious movements of occupied cultures. Mostly talks about how as occupiers crusade against traditional customs, those customs become powerful symbols for rebellion.
Most parts of this book were fascinating. I read this book to familiarize myself with Algeria's revolutionary changes during the mid 1900s. I'm planning to read collections of essays and novels about this subject in the near future, and I wanted a little background knowledge of the struggle of the Algerian people during this time period.
This book did the job, but for a relatively small book, there were a few parts I found I had to force my way through. Still, it was quite informative and very in...more
This book did the job, but for a relatively small book, there were a few parts I found I had to force my way through. Still, it was quite informative and very in...more
Sep 16, 2008
Michelle
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
folks interest in anticolonial struggle and African history.
A wonderful collection of Fanon's essays in the Algerian National Liberation Front's newspaper during the height of the anticolonial war against France. It spans the time in between Black Skin White Masks and The Wretched of the Earth. Much weaker on theory, either psychoanalytic or political, but much richer historically. A lot of direct commentary on the French left at the time, the Third World movement, and continent-wide African politics in the 50s. Very readable.
I didnt think that after reading a book about the algerian revolution, that id want to immediately read it again. i didnt, but the accounts of people at the time, particularly how algerian women dealt with rapidly changing cultural identity, are interesting enough to want to do so.
Insightful reading into the Algerian revolution in particular, and modern-day nationalism in general. Fanon, though clearly partial, does a good job of representing the cultural tensions arising with colonialism. The writing was clear and enjoyable.
Feb 23, 2010
Thom Dunn
added it
Much more readable than Wretched of the Earth. Now something of a nostalgia piece to be set alongside Paolo Friere's Pedagogy of the Oppressed.
I really like how Fanon uses psychology for liberatory means. I also enjoyed the accounts from white folks who were involved in the struggle against colonialism.
It's Fanon... do you really give stars to Frantz Fanon?
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Frantz Fanon was a psychiatrist, philosopher, revolutionary, and author from Martinique. He was influential in the field of post-colonial studies and was perhaps the pre-eminent thinker of the 20th century on the issue of decolonization and the psychopathology of colonization. His works have inspired anti-colonial liberation movements for more than four decades.
فرانز فانون
طبيب نفسانيّ وفيلسوف اجتم...more
More about Frantz Fanon...
فرانز فانون
طبيب نفسانيّ وفيلسوف اجتم...more
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“The Algerian fidaï, unlike the unbalanced anarchists made famous in literature, does not take dope. The fidaï does not need to be unaware of danger, to befog his consciousness, or to forgot. The "terrorist," from the moment he undertakes an assignment, allows death to enter into his soul. He has a rendezvous with death.The fidaï, on the other hand, has a rendezvous with the life of the Revolution, and with his own life. The fidaï is not one of the sacrificed. To be sure, he does not shrink before the possibility of losing his life or the independence of his country, but at no moment does he choose death.”
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Jan 11, 2010 07:10pm