Abstract
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. This work explores how individuals draw upon historical and present-day experiences to articulate their sense of membership and belonging. Ultimately, this work situates the idea of immigrant integration in a broader historical and geographical context, examining how ‘belonging’ becomes a matter of contention in receiving contexts marked by post-colonial anxiety
Recommended Citation
Nelson, Elizabeth
(2022)
"Of Revolution or Postcoloniality? Identity Practices of Algerian Immigrants and Their Descendants in France,"
The Geographical Bulletin: Vol. 63:
Iss.
3, Article 4.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/thegeographicalbulletin/vol63/iss3/4