Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Of Revolution Or Postcoloniality? Identity Practices Of Algerian Immigrants And Their Descendants In France, Elizabeth Nelson

The Geographical Bulletin

Using qualitative research techniques, this article demonstrates how colonial memory and postcolonial dynamics permeate the everyday lives and encounters of Algerian-origin people in France and inform the ways they conceive of, and experience, social membership and belonging. This work investigates what it means to be a racialized minority in a postcolonial context and to learn and experience the boundaries of ‘Frenchness’ and ‘Algerianness.’ It is based on the narratives of Algerian immigrants who have migrated to Paris, France and their French-born children. The empirical evidence highlights how Algerian immigrants and their descendants encounter and structure their interactions with French society. …