Franco-Algerian memories in France and questions of gender

This thesis will explore literary representations of Franco-Algerian memories in France since the end of the Algerian War of Independence (1954-62), with particular concentration on the manner in which gendered identities are represented in these narratives of memory, and how these narratives themselves are gendered and gendering.
This study claims that theoretical links between memory and gender have not been fully explored. I will attempt to examine this overlooked area by focusing on theories of collective memory through a lens of Judith Butler’s theory of gender performance, in which she argues that gender is not a natural quality, but a process that gains significance through enactment and repetition. Cultural theorists have identified that the ways in which societies and collective groups remember have become increasingly problematic in the wake of the traumatic events of the twentieth century (World Wars, Genocide, colonial war, mass migration). I will draw on the works of several of these theorists who focus on ‘non-competitive’ memory in the 20th century; namely, Marianne Hirsch, Alison Landsberg, Mireille Rosello, Michael Rothberg and Max Silverman. The works of these authors have been the basis for which I will argue that collective memory is process of mediation and enactment, in a similar manner that Butler’s theory demonstrates that gender is not an attribute but an activity.
With the aid of these theories, I will examine how anti-colonial and anti-racists texts in French from the 1970s either contribute to or challenge narratives of memory that support gendered and gendering concepts. By studying the literary works of Rachid Boudjedra Ahmed Kalouaz, Didier Daeninckx, François Maspero, Hélène Cixous and Leïla Sebbar, this project will attempt to tackle questions of gender in Franco-Algerian memories that have previously been ignored.