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Decolonization and the Decolonized
In this time of global instability and widespread violence, Albert Memmi—author of the highly influential and groundbreaking work The Colonizer and the Colonized—turns his attention to the present-day situation of formerly colonized peoples. In Decolonization and the Decolonized, Memmi expands his intellectual engagement with the subject and examines the manifold causes of the failure of decolonization efforts throughout the world.As outspoken and controversial as ever, Memmi initiates a much-needed discussion of the ex-colonized and refuses to idealize those who are too often painted as hapless victims. He shows how, in light of a radically changed world, it would be problematic—and even irresponsible—to continue to deploy concepts that were useful and valid during the period of anticolonial struggle.Decolonization and the Decolonized contributes to the most current debates on Islamophobia in France, the “new” anti-Semitism, and the unrelenting poverty gripping the African continent. Memmi, who is Jewish, was born and raised in Tunis, and focuses primarily on what he calls the Arab-Muslim condition, while also incorporating comparisons with South America, Asia, Black Africa, and the United States. In Decolonization and the Decolonized, Memmi has written that rare book—a manifesto informed by intellect and animated by passion—that will propel public analysis of the most urgent global issues to a new level.Albert Memmi is professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Paris, Nanterre, and the author of Racism (Minnesota, 1997).Robert Bononno, a teacher and translator, lives in New York City.
168 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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About the author
Albert Memmi
66 books138 followersTunisian Jewish writer and essayist who migrated to France.
Born in Tunisia under French protectorate, from a Tunisian Jewish mother, Marguerite Sarfati, and a Tunisian-Italian Jewish father, François Memmi, he speaks French and Tunisian-Judeo-Arabic. He claims to be of Berber ancestry. He was educated in French primary schools, and continued on to the Carnot high school in Tunis, the University of Algiers where he studied philosophy, and finally the Sorbonne in Paris. Albert Memmi found himself at the crossroads of three cultures, and based his work on the difficulty of finding a balance between the East and the West.
His best-known nonfiction work is "The Colonizer and the Colonized", about the interdependent relationship of the two groups. It was published in 1957, a time when many national liberation movements were active. Jean-Paul Sartre wrote the preface. The work is often read in conjunction with Frantz Fanon's "Les damnés de la Terre" ("The Wretched of the Earth") and "Peau noire, masques blancs" ("Black Skin, White Masks") and Aimé Césaire's "Discourse on Colonialism." In October 2006, Memmi's follow-up to this work, titled "Decolonization and the Decolonized," was published. In this book, Memmi suggests that in the wake of global decolonization, the suffering of former colonies cannot be attributed to the former colonizers, but to the corrupt leaders and governments that control these states.
Born in Tunisia under French protectorate, from a Tunisian Jewish mother, Marguerite Sarfati, and a Tunisian-Italian Jewish father, François Memmi, he speaks French and Tunisian-Judeo-Arabic. He claims to be of Berber ancestry. He was educated in French primary schools, and continued on to the Carnot high school in Tunis, the University of Algiers where he studied philosophy, and finally the Sorbonne in Paris. Albert Memmi found himself at the crossroads of three cultures, and based his work on the difficulty of finding a balance between the East and the West.
His best-known nonfiction work is "The Colonizer and the Colonized", about the interdependent relationship of the two groups. It was published in 1957, a time when many national liberation movements were active. Jean-Paul Sartre wrote the preface. The work is often read in conjunction with Frantz Fanon's "Les damnés de la Terre" ("The Wretched of the Earth") and "Peau noire, masques blancs" ("Black Skin, White Masks") and Aimé Césaire's "Discourse on Colonialism." In October 2006, Memmi's follow-up to this work, titled "Decolonization and the Decolonized," was published. In this book, Memmi suggests that in the wake of global decolonization, the suffering of former colonies cannot be attributed to the former colonizers, but to the corrupt leaders and governments that control these states.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
May 26, 2020
I consider Albert Memmi's The Colonizer and the Colonized one of the few truly brilliant works of analysis on the psychology of colonialism. Unlike most similar books it still feels relevant today, even as colonialism itself has become a fading memory in most of the world. I must therefore note with disappointment this absolutely bizarre work, published decades later as kind of a sequel. One of the big follies of postcolonial writing was the lack of introspection often evinced by the colonized themselves. The idea of an incisive mind like Memmi's turning to analyze self-critically thus sounded very appealing. This book sadly however offers nothing like that. It is a curmudgeonly, stream-of-consciousness tirade with substantive zero analysis, the one redeeming quality being its brevity.
I can give an example which suffices to explain the tenor of the book. Memmi is disgusted by the graffiti habits and urban clothing of immigrant youths in France. He views them as an amorphous menace and expounds for a few pages on the psychology that he believes underpins their behavior. There is no evidence in any of his analysis however to suggest that he ever considered the revolutionary idea of actually talking to any of them. Their voice is wholly absent. It seems like if one is going to write a book about a group of people it might be useful to include some words from your subjects. Instead, Memmi just opines as though from a castle in the sky.
Maybe this kind of detached analysis is more common in French writing but as an outsider it seems almost parodic. I find it particularly unfortunate since I have written articles about this subject that are based on the basic journalistic principle of talking to people (see: https://theintercept.com/2019/02/23/f...) and can see quite clearly the myopia and laziness of his arguments. Do not bother with this book. But do read the works from earlier in Memmi's life when his analysis was more acute.
I can give an example which suffices to explain the tenor of the book. Memmi is disgusted by the graffiti habits and urban clothing of immigrant youths in France. He views them as an amorphous menace and expounds for a few pages on the psychology that he believes underpins their behavior. There is no evidence in any of his analysis however to suggest that he ever considered the revolutionary idea of actually talking to any of them. Their voice is wholly absent. It seems like if one is going to write a book about a group of people it might be useful to include some words from your subjects. Instead, Memmi just opines as though from a castle in the sky.
Maybe this kind of detached analysis is more common in French writing but as an outsider it seems almost parodic. I find it particularly unfortunate since I have written articles about this subject that are based on the basic journalistic principle of talking to people (see: https://theintercept.com/2019/02/23/f...) and can see quite clearly the myopia and laziness of his arguments. Do not bother with this book. But do read the works from earlier in Memmi's life when his analysis was more acute.
March 13, 2021
Having read and found many of Memmi's previous works quite insightful, I reached for this for his perspective on postcoloniality. This book has a few good ideas at best, and is a wholly irresponsible and racist take on decolonization at worst.
Memmi discusses dozens of topics, but none in any meaningful detail. His arguments are surface level and devoid of supportive references and context. They read like the angry ramblings of a regressive old man. Particularly, his take on the socio-economic conditions of Black Americans is appalling, inaccurate, and offensive. Memmi's framing of the colonizer/colonized dynamic post-colonialism has no nuance (lasting effects of colonization, conceptualization of aid, etc.).
I did find some meaningful insights in the structural critique of religious states (organization, priorities, fundamentalism, etc. and how those relate to perpetuate and uphold characteristics of a colonized nation).
Memmi discusses dozens of topics, but none in any meaningful detail. His arguments are surface level and devoid of supportive references and context. They read like the angry ramblings of a regressive old man. Particularly, his take on the socio-economic conditions of Black Americans is appalling, inaccurate, and offensive. Memmi's framing of the colonizer/colonized dynamic post-colonialism has no nuance (lasting effects of colonization, conceptualization of aid, etc.).
I did find some meaningful insights in the structural critique of religious states (organization, priorities, fundamentalism, etc. and how those relate to perpetuate and uphold characteristics of a colonized nation).
October 16, 2020
Truly one of the worst academic books that I've ever read. If I could review this with even fewer stars, I would. In this book, Memmi analyzes what he considers "decolonized," or "formerly colonized," nations and their people in an attempt to understand their present statuses. The idea that any of these groups have been able to remove the colonial/imperial holds on their countries comes across as suspect to anyone with an understanding of the global power relations affecting them. Starting, from this bizarre premise, Memmi proceeds to examine these cultures through a lens that would make a white supremacist blush. The conclusions that his disingenuous premise lead him to make are, without exaggeration, in-line with the contemporary claims on race and immigration made by neo-nazis. Additionally, one can assume that the lack of any evident research or citation outside of what are presumably Memmi's own bigoted beliefs are the reason for his conclusions. Were he to research on these issues more seriously, it would be impossible to arrive at the thoughts he does. It is truly laughable to consider this book as having any merit whatsoever.
December 29, 2024
This book contributes to the current debates on Islamophobia in France, "new" anti-Semitism, and the unrelenting poverty strangling the African continent. Memmi focusses primarily on what he terms the Arab-Muslim condition, while also incorporating comparisons with South America, Asia, Africa, and the United States. This is one of those rare books -- a manifesto informed by intellect and animated by passion -- that should propel public analysis of the most urgent global issues to a new level. I hope.
July 3, 2019
Disappointing, and I did not finish. None of the strength of Memmi's insights in The Colonizer and the Colonized is present here, and there are far more illuminating and insightful books addressing postcoloniality. The contrast between his former and present work is stark; where, in the first book Memmi wrote from the perspective of one who had an intimate experience of the colonial situation - here, his perspective is that of a far-off (and obtuse!) commentator who just can't understand why the 'decolonized' "continuously beg for aid from the ex-colonizer?". There is no useful theory here.
December 19, 2021
From the author of The Colonizer and The Colonized I had high hopes. It will never cease to amaze me how liberal political theorists and scientists maintain such cynicism towards people while being simultaneously so naive towards states. Beginning from the premise that the first world gains nothing from continuing to oppress the third world partly contributes to this. This premise ignores that the majority of first-w0rld trade is between developed nations, using resources which are still expropriated today from underdeveloped ones. There is corruption everywhere, but it also has its systematic causes Euro-American meddling and propaganda. Finger-wagging at Africa for remaining impoverished, blaming Africans for not having (or, Memmi will say, not desiring to have) lifted themselves out of poverty is wrongheaded and counterproductive.
September 6, 2024
This is an understandably divisive book and certainly has chunks I disagree with, but I interpreted the approach and tone very differently than many reviewers. Maybe it’s realizing the distinction between how often the book is truly taking a descriptive approach, not always normative/prescriptive one. There’s also a lot of nuance, and perhaps some readers are so infuriated by the book’s (admittedly sometimes crudely intentional) provocative elements that it’s easy to undervalue its sometimes brilliant insights. This book is about the why, and while it does place blame at points, it’s mostly about acknowledging difficult to escape contradictions and pressures, IMO. I’m looking forward to reading more of his work - this was a rather unusual starting place.
March 19, 2025
Ayant lu Portrait du colonisé (précédé du Portrait du colonisateur) [1957] essai basé sur son expérience personnelle avant celui-ci, j'ai été vraiment déçue de lire cet essai paru 47 ans plus tard [2004] qui me parait comme un simple essai de préjugés sur ses "trois types" de décolonisés. Cela me donne envie de savoir qu'est-ce qu'il s'est passé dans sa vie en 47 ans pour tant baisser en qualité de profondeur d'écriture.
September 17, 2021
This is very straight forward and simply written, yet it lacks some citations sadly. Literally he sometimes write "I heard or I read".... I suppose his authority comes from his prior publications and his position as an Arab. However, he raises good points of critique such as no one openly critiquing Sadam Hussein. He points his finger at intellectuals, especially Arab intellectuals for preferring to be safe rather than critique. He says that women writers in the Maghreb are more free than male writers because they have nothing to lose (38). However many of these writers are writing in the safe space of the West (69). He said in the Arab world there is not a safe space to state one's opinion.(32). I didn't know that Algerians were brought in to Marseilles in 1905 to end a strike (81). He frames immigration as a sign of a nation's problems- their citizens leaving, and as a sign of another nation's need for labor (77). Immigration is "the product of poverty and fear, hunger and frustration, an apparently hopeless future"(73).
He poses an interesting question: "Is there a choice between tyranny and permanent disorder? What can be done in the face of an apparently incurable illness, other than to resign oneself to it or flee?"(68).
He critiques the Arab world as not taking action: "Arab-Muslim society suffers from a serious depressive syndrome that prevents it from seeing any way out of its current situation. The Arab world has still not found, or has not wanted to consider, the transformations that would enable it to adapt to the modern wold, which it cannot help but absorb. Rather than examining itself and applying the proper remedies, it looks for the causes of its disability in others. It's the fault of the Americans, or the Jews, of unbelievers....Through a classic process of projection, the Arab world blames them for every sin, depravity, loss of value, materialism, atheism, and so on."(65).
His explanation of the rise of dictators was uncanny, such as the ruler supporting "fossilized aspects of tradition", "resuscitate an old hero", "promote the most outdated elements of national folklore", "flatter ethnic and national myths", suggest that he himself is the reincarnation of the great men of the past"(42). He critiques this trend of 'oh we need to return to the good old days" (104) and asks people to think about what that return means. He challenges the Arab world to meet the West's intellectual and scientific developments, not rest on ancient laurels.
He poses an interesting question: "Is there a choice between tyranny and permanent disorder? What can be done in the face of an apparently incurable illness, other than to resign oneself to it or flee?"(68).
He critiques the Arab world as not taking action: "Arab-Muslim society suffers from a serious depressive syndrome that prevents it from seeing any way out of its current situation. The Arab world has still not found, or has not wanted to consider, the transformations that would enable it to adapt to the modern wold, which it cannot help but absorb. Rather than examining itself and applying the proper remedies, it looks for the causes of its disability in others. It's the fault of the Americans, or the Jews, of unbelievers....Through a classic process of projection, the Arab world blames them for every sin, depravity, loss of value, materialism, atheism, and so on."(65).
His explanation of the rise of dictators was uncanny, such as the ruler supporting "fossilized aspects of tradition", "resuscitate an old hero", "promote the most outdated elements of national folklore", "flatter ethnic and national myths", suggest that he himself is the reincarnation of the great men of the past"(42). He critiques this trend of 'oh we need to return to the good old days" (104) and asks people to think about what that return means. He challenges the Arab world to meet the West's intellectual and scientific developments, not rest on ancient laurels.
August 5, 2020
This book follows up on Memmi’s earlier The Colonizer and the Colonized (1957). While it is less focused on presenting “portraits” of experience, Decolonization and the Decolonized (2006) does follow a similar structure by addressing three figures: the ex-colonized, the immigrant, and children of immigrants. Unfortunately, the book seems frustrated at the oversights of his own past writing The Colonizer and Colonized. Memmi asserted in the conclusion of his previous book that, “Having conquered all his dimensions, the former colonizer will become a man like any other.” At the beginning of his current book he bemoans the fact that his assertion proved inaccurate, noting, “The end of colonization should have brought with it freedom and prosperity. The colonized would give birth to the citizen, master of his political, economic, and cultural destiny...unfortunately, in most cases, the long anticipated period of freedom, won at the cost of terrible suffering, brought with it poverty and corruption, violence, and sometimes chaos” (3).
Much of his book meditates on moments in society that resulted in what he sees as his prediction’s inaccuracy, which is interesting in comparison with his previous text. However, his argument relies on many examples that come across as anti-Black, anti-Muslim, sexist, and ableist. While he does attempt to claim that he is not critiquing Islam in particular, noting his argument often applies to Zionism and, less politically, to all religions, including Judaism and Catholicism, he seems oblivious to the anti-Black, ableist, and sexist rhetoric.
In the afterword of The Colonizer and the Colonized, a professor noted how an obvious oversight in Memmi’s book was its absence of analyzing women outside of discussing “mixed marriages.” If his shallow attempt at discussing women’s rights in this text are any illustration, this was probably a good thing.
Overall, it was a disappointment compared to The Colonizer and the Colonized. I would suggest people read that and his other earlier works instead.
Much of his book meditates on moments in society that resulted in what he sees as his prediction’s inaccuracy, which is interesting in comparison with his previous text. However, his argument relies on many examples that come across as anti-Black, anti-Muslim, sexist, and ableist. While he does attempt to claim that he is not critiquing Islam in particular, noting his argument often applies to Zionism and, less politically, to all religions, including Judaism and Catholicism, he seems oblivious to the anti-Black, ableist, and sexist rhetoric.
In the afterword of The Colonizer and the Colonized, a professor noted how an obvious oversight in Memmi’s book was its absence of analyzing women outside of discussing “mixed marriages.” If his shallow attempt at discussing women’s rights in this text are any illustration, this was probably a good thing.
Overall, it was a disappointment compared to The Colonizer and the Colonized. I would suggest people read that and his other earlier works instead.
April 12, 2018
This book is a huge disappointment to say the least. In the introduction, the author acknowledges that he managed to piss nearly everyone off with this book & I see why.
The west's complicity in the destabilization of the so-called "third world", the silence of intellectuals that fuels their inaction, the few valid critiques in the book do not redeem it's failings in any way. They are either incomplete, ignoring class issues, specifically betrayal by the bourgeoisie in rebelling countries, labor history & neocolonialism to name a few.
Ignoring of these & many other factors results in what is essentially blaming oppressed people for their conditions post colonialism, which ignores the reality of neocolonialism, the reach of capitalism & how just because they are no longer suppressed militarily, they are now suppressed economically, which is helped by the betrayal of local bourgeoisie. It ignores the reach & effects of tools of this suppression, such as the World Trade Organization, The World Bank & the International Monetary Fund.
He, like many influenced by Western thinking, equates the violence or any other reaction of the oppressed on the same level as their oppressors & aggressors. That in hope of unification, they must let go of their justified resentment. There is always this "yeah, but" mentality, essentially saying you have a point but you have to be the bigger person, never once, despite any critiques of them, calling for the oppressors to stop what they're doing that causes this because maybe, just maybe, if you didn't oppress people they might have fewer reasons to resent you. The aggressors are the first & foremost who should be criticized & called to stop anything before anyone else. The prevalence of this mentality is honestly disgusting.
It reads like an old man telling everyone to get off his lawn because he is weary of the world & the need to constantly analyze with nuance. Considering how good "The Colonizer & the Colonized" was, though certainly not without its flaws, this book is the worst kind of betrayal.
The west's complicity in the destabilization of the so-called "third world", the silence of intellectuals that fuels their inaction, the few valid critiques in the book do not redeem it's failings in any way. They are either incomplete, ignoring class issues, specifically betrayal by the bourgeoisie in rebelling countries, labor history & neocolonialism to name a few.
Ignoring of these & many other factors results in what is essentially blaming oppressed people for their conditions post colonialism, which ignores the reality of neocolonialism, the reach of capitalism & how just because they are no longer suppressed militarily, they are now suppressed economically, which is helped by the betrayal of local bourgeoisie. It ignores the reach & effects of tools of this suppression, such as the World Trade Organization, The World Bank & the International Monetary Fund.
He, like many influenced by Western thinking, equates the violence or any other reaction of the oppressed on the same level as their oppressors & aggressors. That in hope of unification, they must let go of their justified resentment. There is always this "yeah, but" mentality, essentially saying you have a point but you have to be the bigger person, never once, despite any critiques of them, calling for the oppressors to stop what they're doing that causes this because maybe, just maybe, if you didn't oppress people they might have fewer reasons to resent you. The aggressors are the first & foremost who should be criticized & called to stop anything before anyone else. The prevalence of this mentality is honestly disgusting.
It reads like an old man telling everyone to get off his lawn because he is weary of the world & the need to constantly analyze with nuance. Considering how good "The Colonizer & the Colonized" was, though certainly not without its flaws, this book is the worst kind of betrayal.
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January 25, 2024“La culpabilité devient nocive lorsqu’elle conduit à l’aveuglement.”
“Aider les décolonisés, ce n'est pas seulement avoir pour eux quelque précautionneuse compassion, c'est se dire et leur dire la vérité, parce qu'on les considère comme dignes
de l'entendre.”
“La corruption est partout et altère tout et tout le monde; y compris les petits qui en retirent quelques miettes consolatrices, et qui en sont les
victimes complices, complaisantes ou résignées. Elle touche les pays riches comme les pays pauvres; mais souvent la plus grande corruption
accompagne la plus grande pauvreté.”
“Périodiquement, tel chef d'État annonce solennellement son intention de lutter contre une corruption devenue obscène : comme si les voleurs prétendaient assurer l'ordre; Arsène Lupin déguisé en préfet de police.”
“Les bonnes à tout faire refusent dorénavant de s'appeler Fatma, exigent qu'on leur donne des Warda et des Neila comme leurs patronnes, mais demeurent sous-payées et corvéables à merci.”
“Qui mieux que l'armée en effet, organisme hiérarchisé et discipliné, obéissant par nature, éduqué à la soumission sans discuter, et à commander, pourrait fournir l'outil le plus efficace pour conforter un régime despotique?”
“Le pouvoir des militaires s'effondre dès qu'un autre factieux y porte la main, instituant une pseudo-légitimité à la place d'une autre.”
“Sans doute, dans la jungle des nations, les plus puissantes font la loi aux plus fragiles, pour leur arracher ce qu'elles pourraient encore leur prendre.”
« Le Maghrébin évoque avec atten-
drissement les soirs d'été, la mer, la friture fraîche et abondante, achetée en vrac directement au pêcheur; le chameau aux yeux bandés, pour ne
pas être pris de vertige, qui tourne inlassablement autour de la noria, pour faire jaillir des entrailles de la terre une eau bienfaisante; il exalte les odeurs exquises, jasmin, fleur d'oranger, épices, apportées par la brise »
“Aider les décolonisés, ce n'est pas seulement avoir pour eux quelque précautionneuse compassion, c'est se dire et leur dire la vérité, parce qu'on les considère comme dignes
de l'entendre.”
“La corruption est partout et altère tout et tout le monde; y compris les petits qui en retirent quelques miettes consolatrices, et qui en sont les
victimes complices, complaisantes ou résignées. Elle touche les pays riches comme les pays pauvres; mais souvent la plus grande corruption
accompagne la plus grande pauvreté.”
“Périodiquement, tel chef d'État annonce solennellement son intention de lutter contre une corruption devenue obscène : comme si les voleurs prétendaient assurer l'ordre; Arsène Lupin déguisé en préfet de police.”
“Les bonnes à tout faire refusent dorénavant de s'appeler Fatma, exigent qu'on leur donne des Warda et des Neila comme leurs patronnes, mais demeurent sous-payées et corvéables à merci.”
“Qui mieux que l'armée en effet, organisme hiérarchisé et discipliné, obéissant par nature, éduqué à la soumission sans discuter, et à commander, pourrait fournir l'outil le plus efficace pour conforter un régime despotique?”
“Le pouvoir des militaires s'effondre dès qu'un autre factieux y porte la main, instituant une pseudo-légitimité à la place d'une autre.”
“Sans doute, dans la jungle des nations, les plus puissantes font la loi aux plus fragiles, pour leur arracher ce qu'elles pourraient encore leur prendre.”
« Le Maghrébin évoque avec atten-
drissement les soirs d'été, la mer, la friture fraîche et abondante, achetée en vrac directement au pêcheur; le chameau aux yeux bandés, pour ne
pas être pris de vertige, qui tourne inlassablement autour de la noria, pour faire jaillir des entrailles de la terre une eau bienfaisante; il exalte les odeurs exquises, jasmin, fleur d'oranger, épices, apportées par la brise »
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 15, 2014
Dans cet essai, Albert Memmi dresse le portrait du décolonisé. Sa nouvelle situation que ce soit dans son pays natal ou bien dans les pays européens ( Les pays d’accueil ) !
Les conditions politiques et économiques qui poussent les ex-colonisés à quitter leurs pays pour vivre dans les pays ex-colonisateurs.
Alber Memmi a essayé également d'expliquer le phénomène du communautarisme et sa relation avec les religions spécialement avec l'Islam.
Un livre très intéressant pour comprendre la psychologie et la façon avec laquelle pense le décolonisé en général et spécialement le décolonisé arabo-musulman ..
Les conditions politiques et économiques qui poussent les ex-colonisés à quitter leurs pays pour vivre dans les pays ex-colonisateurs.
Alber Memmi a essayé également d'expliquer le phénomène du communautarisme et sa relation avec les religions spécialement avec l'Islam.
Un livre très intéressant pour comprendre la psychologie et la façon avec laquelle pense le décolonisé en général et spécialement le décolonisé arabo-musulman ..
September 3, 2015
Décevant. J'en espérais plus. Memmi fait la chronique d'une situation déjà assez bien connue mais sans rien apporter ni de nouveau ni spécifique. En plus, quand il s'aventure dehors son domaine de connaissance --le monde arabe-- même si superficiellement, il se rabat sur banalités qui parfois ne sont même pas basés sur des faits.
Le livre m'a semblé matière pour les démagogues et xénophobes de la droite. Il n'apporte en conclusion aucune solution original. Je conseille mieux les plusieurs livres ou essais sur le sujet de Slavoj Zizek qui donnent plus à penser.
Le livre m'a semblé matière pour les démagogues et xénophobes de la droite. Il n'apporte en conclusion aucune solution original. Je conseille mieux les plusieurs livres ou essais sur le sujet de Slavoj Zizek qui donnent plus à penser.
November 12, 2010
Surprisingly, and frankly, racist. Still, there are a few ideas that are still thoughtful, mainly that the colonized doesn't stop being colonized after decolonization, and (for me interesting) the recreation of national language to bolster "independent" identity. But then he also rags on headscarves, low-riding pants, rap and kids these days. Crotchety old communist.
August 30, 2020
I found this to be very eloquently written (and, I assume, excellently translated), and also agreed with and believed the majority of Memmi’s conclusions. However, this is more of an essay than an academic volume, and as a critical thinker I can only take it as a source of ideas for doing my own thinking and research for further understanding and validation of those conclusions.
January 9, 2012
It seemed to me like Memmi was really taking on too much in this book, and more than he could really be knowledgeable about. It didn't seem to have anywhere near the clarity of thought as his original The Colonizer and the Colonized.
September 6, 2022
I have very contradictory feelings about this book, with its disturbing description of immigrants, not to mention Memmi’s position of Israel and the Palestinians. Rarely I doubted my feelings about any book as this one. I’m not sure if I like his writings or not anymore.
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March 29, 2021Not a fan, honestly.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews