Papers by M Kamel Igoudjil
CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform eBooks, May 30, 2016
When Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote the History of the Kings of Britain in Latin around 1135-8, he cl... more When Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote the History of the Kings of Britain in Latin around 1135-8, he claimed that he was translating an earlier source in the "British Language" and presenting a "truthful account" of British History. Geoffrey's claims around this book gave his writing more authority, and, while this particular book has never been uncovered, he was drawing on other sources, such as Gildas, Bede and Nennius. In particular, Geoffrey elaborated a legend from Nennius that described how the first settlers of Britain were descended from AEneas and other survivors from the Trojan War. Thus, Geoffrey's purpose was to provide a plausible ancestry for the current kings of England-Norman who had invaded only seventy years before-and to establish the nation's authority on the world stage.
Journal of Amazigh Studies, 2024
North Africa, or Tamazgha, is a territorial and social space shaped by centuries of invasions, co... more North Africa, or Tamazgha, is a territorial and social space shaped by centuries of invasions, colonization, and other contacts (trade, etc.) that have influenced indigenous peoples' cultures and languages. The Amazigh populations resisted but also adapted, and today's North Africa is a dynamic zone of linguistic, literary, and cultural intersection. And yet there is resistance with the preservation of the Amazigh languages and cultures as well as political moves to protect the integrity and interests of the Amazigh communities.
The Journal of Pan-African Studies, 2017
IntroductionThey bear upon them the traces of the particular cultures, traditions, languages and ... more IntroductionThey bear upon them the traces of the particular cultures, traditions, languages and histories by which they were shaped. The difference is that they are not and will never be unified in the old sense, because they are irrevocably the product of several interlocking histories and cultures, belong at one and the same time to several "homes" (Hall "Cultural Identity" 222)Caribbean identity is important because it expresses the ethos of the people. To establish such identity, it is a difficult subject because there are multiple historical contributing elements. The Caribbean has many cultural roots. After the European had exterminated the indigenous population, they settled the Caribbean with people around the world and forced them to labor. Thus, people of the Caribbean have extensive backgrounds, making "identity" a problematic topic. Indeed, oppression and slavery marked the Caribbean history, which caused a long-lasting trauma in the mind o...
75 national and international contributors attended the conference entitled Creating Myths as Nar... more 75 national and international contributors attended the conference entitled Creating Myths as Narratives of Empowerment and Disempowerment held at the University of Jendouba, Tunisia between 10-12 March 2014. These proceedings are a selection of the lectures, seminars and workshops presented, looking at the ways that mythology is used in areas such as religion and historical empowerment, through lenses such as modernism, imperialism, postcolonialism, realism and American minorities.
Based on postcolonial and postmodern theories, this paper explores Hybridity as a Counter-Hegemon... more Based on postcolonial and postmodern theories, this paper explores Hybridity as a Counter-Hegemonic Discourse in Elizabeth Nunez's Even in Paradise. While criticism has yet to study Nunez's work from a postcolonial perspective, Even in Paradise reveals two types of narrative discourse: " postmodern narrative " intertwined with " colonial narrative. " The narrative is " a perfect zigzag " journey into the past to comprehend the present. Nunez resists the traditional linear narrative by using a zigzag time and space to defy Western Culture and its controlling structures. Nunez also writes against the postcolonial condition with the attribution of a dominant position in the Caribbean and African culture. Finally, Nunez, a Caribbean writer, writes in English not only to answer back to the colonial discourse but also to challenge the oppressive discourse held by men vis-á-vis women. Using both tenacious and strong male and female characters while searching for space and identity, she redefines the status of women in a male-dominated world. What is common to many of today's postcolonial authors is their focus on the linguistic hybridity of the national space, the importance of which must be recognized as an asset to postcolonial spaces rather than viewed as a means of dividing the country for the welfare of the ruling few. Drawing from postcolonial theories, I explore Nunez's hybridity as a counter-hegemonic discourse as an example of third space that works to reclaim a space for the subaltern voice.
This article examines the main contribution of multiculturalism in education using critical pedag... more This article examines the main contribution of multiculturalism in education using critical pedagogy and critical literacy in the classroom. Multiculturalism empowers students with the notion of identity and heritage by allowing them to connect with culturally relevant texts and, thus, generate meaningful responses at a critical level. However, multiculturalism as a theoretical approach is veiled by New Criticism, which covertly imposes a specific curriculum on diverse students. This type of education claims to provide specifically what an educated person allegedly should know about the world in general and the United States in particular. However, such ideological construction targets the very essence of one’s identity with a specific purpose to eradicate the foundation of one’s heritage to impose an exclusively Eurocentric ethos. Accordingly, such curriculum limits the critical discourse in the classroom, particularly when it is delivered as hegemonic discourse. This paper seeks to rethink multiculturalism at the levels of critical pedagogy and critical literacy using a Derridean approach to deconstructing texts in the classroom to facilitate the critical discourse/diversity. The United States encapsulates a pluralistic society of multiculturalism¬–a world of Caliban of many different ethnicities. The curriculum should reflect this New Order.
Based on poststructuralist and postmodernist theories, this paper explores myth and narrative as ... more Based on poststructuralist and postmodernist theories, this paper explores myth and narrative as a postmodern quest for identity in Anita Desai's The Zigzag Way, a text that reveals two types of narrative discourse, intertwining " personal mythology " and " historical mythology. " The narrative is " a perfect zigzag " journey into the past to comprehend the present. Desai resists the traditional linear narrative by using non-linear time and discontinuous space to defy Western Culture and its controlling structures. Using the archetype of Joseph Campbell's hero's journey, Desai also writes against the postcolonial condition by attributing a dominant position to Spanish and Indian culture. Finally, she writes in English not only to answer back to the colonial discourse but also to challenge the oppressive discourse held by men vis-á-vis women. Using both tenacious and strong male and female characters while searching for space and identity, she redefines the status of women in a male-dominated world. What Desai has in common with many of today's postcolonial authors is their focus on the linguistic hybridity of the national space, the importance of which must be recognized as an asset to postcolonial spaces rather than viewed as a means of dividing the country for the welfare of the ruling few. Drawing on Derrida's " white mythology, " I explore Desai's counter-hegemonic discourse as an example of counter-myth that works to reclaim a space for the subaltern voice.
Sahar Editions, Tunisia- ISBN#978-9973-28-421-1, Jul 2014
Based on postcolonial concepts borrowed from Edward Said, Gayatri Spivak, and Jürgen Habermas, th... more Based on postcolonial concepts borrowed from Edward Said, Gayatri Spivak, and Jürgen Habermas, this paper studies the appropriation of French language by Algerian authors as a means of representation and resistance to the discourse of the colonizer, and in the case of women authors, to the patriarchal norms of Algerian society. Kateb Yacine uses French to resist French hegemony through subverting its structures by mixing it with the Algerian language and culture. His Nedjma reveals two types of narrative discourse: written and oral language, on the one hand, and the use of the Arabo-Berber vernacular, on the other. Yacine also writes against the post-colonial Algerian condition with the attribution of a dominant position to classical Arabic at the expense of Algerian Arabic and Tamazight. By clearing a space for the subaltern voice, women authors writing in French differ from male authors like Yacine. These women use French language not only to answer back to the colonial discourse but also the discourse held by men vis-a-vis women and their oppressive inferior condition. In Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade, Assia Djebar uses oral testimonies and archival information as background for her narrative in order to enrich the reader’s comprehension of the cultural memory of Algeria, but she also fills the socio-cultural and intellectual void that often results from the patriarchal norms of the Algerian society. In The Forbidden Woman, Malika Mokeddem is similar to Djebar in her use of French not only to subvert the language of the colonizer but, especially, to reconfigure the status of Algerian women. She reclaims the use of French to resist the Algerian structures of patriarchy. What is common to these three authors and others is their focus on the linguistic hybridity of Algeria, the importance of which must be recognized as an asset to postcolonial Algeria, rather than viewed as a means of dividing the country for the welfare of the ruling few.
Adapter le comique et l'humour, ed. Yen-Mai Tran-Gervat, Mar 2013
Que signifie l'humour ? Quelle est sa fonction dans les écrits de Sherman Alexie, écrivain autoch... more Que signifie l'humour ? Quelle est sa fonction dans les écrits de Sherman Alexie, écrivain autochtone américain contemporain ? L'humour est-il régional ou de portée universelle ? La rencontre des cultures estelle toujours un défi ? Cet article se propose d'explorer l'humour dans le recueil de nouvelles de Sherman Alexie intitulé en français Phoenix, Arizona (The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven) 1 .
Drafts by M Kamel Igoudjil
Call for submissions. Amazigh Orality in Contemporary Production Orality, that is, the culture of... more Call for submissions. Amazigh Orality in Contemporary Production Orality, that is, the culture of the spoken word, is a central feature of Amazigh everyday life, history, and linguistics, and communal knowledge. Indeed, although Imazighen have one of the oldest writing systems in North Africa, known as Tifinagh, the latter is not associated with a body of written literature, an Amazigh literary canon. On the other hand, the Amazigh peoples have an extensive and rich oral literature that includes poetry, myths, fables, songs, proverbs, sacred rituals, and tales, which are excluded from a simple textualist notion of culture and communal identity.
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Papers by M Kamel Igoudjil
Drafts by M Kamel Igoudjil