Decolonizing the Republic
African and Caribbean Migrants in Postwar Paris, 1946-1974
Published on 1. July 2016
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-1-61186-204-1 (ISBN)
Description
Decolonizing the Republic is a conscientious discussion of the African diaspora in Paris in the post-World War II period. This book is the first to examine the intersection of black activism and the migration of Caribbeans and Africans to Paris during this era and, as Patrick Manning notes in the foreword, successfully shows how "black Parisians-in their daily labors, weekend celebrations, and periodic protests-opened the way to 'decolonizing the Republic,' advancing the respect for their rights as citizens." Contrasted to earlier works focusing on the black intellectual elite, Decolonizing the Republic maps the formation of a working-class black France. Readers will better comprehend how those peoples of African descent who settled in France and fought to improve their socioeconomic conditions changed the French perception of Caribbean and African identity, laying the foundation for contemporary black activists to deploy a new politics of social inclusion across the demographics of race, class, gender, and nationality. This book complicates conventional understandings of decolonization, and in doing so opens a new and much-needed chapter in the history of the black Atlantic.
Reviews / Votes
"With Decolonizing the Republic, Felix Germain offers the reader a meticulously researched historical meditation on immigration, labor politics, social organizing, and music in the continuing evolution of Black identities across the spectrums of color, class, and nationality in the postwar period in France. In parsing these intersecting phenomena along with the ideals of French Republicanism, Germain ably demonstrates the praxis of a twenty-first century French Pan-African consciousness."-T. Denean Sharpley-Whiting, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Distinguished Professor, Vanderbilt University
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
East Lansing, MI
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
7
Dimensions
Height: 228 mm
Width: 151 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
424 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-61186-204-1 (9781611862041)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Felix F. Germain is an assistant professor in the Department of Africana Studies at the University of Pittsburgh.
Content
Contents
Foreword, Patrick Manning
Preface
Introduction
Chapter One. Black Internationalism and Student Activism in Paris of the Fifties
Chapter Two. African Migration to Paris of the Sixties
Chapter Three. French Documentaries and the Representation of African Experiences
Chapter Four. Work, Housing, Colonial Relations, and the Formation of Oppositional Identities among Working-Class African Workers
Chapter Five. Caribbean Women in Postwar France, 1946-1974
Chapter Six. Henri Salvador's Music and Working-Class Caribbean Males in Paris of the Sixties
Chapter Seven. French Labor Unions, Black Community and Political Activism, and Decolonization in Postcolonial Paris, 1960-1974
Chapter Eight. May '68 in Black
Chapter Nine. Music, Le Pen, and "New" Black Activism in Contemporary France, 1974-2005
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Foreword, Patrick Manning
Preface
Introduction
Chapter One. Black Internationalism and Student Activism in Paris of the Fifties
Chapter Two. African Migration to Paris of the Sixties
Chapter Three. French Documentaries and the Representation of African Experiences
Chapter Four. Work, Housing, Colonial Relations, and the Formation of Oppositional Identities among Working-Class African Workers
Chapter Five. Caribbean Women in Postwar France, 1946-1974
Chapter Six. Henri Salvador's Music and Working-Class Caribbean Males in Paris of the Sixties
Chapter Seven. French Labor Unions, Black Community and Political Activism, and Decolonization in Postcolonial Paris, 1960-1974
Chapter Eight. May '68 in Black
Chapter Nine. Music, Le Pen, and "New" Black Activism in Contemporary France, 1974-2005
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index