Sex, France, and Arab Men, 1962-1979

Episode 71: Sex, France, and Arab Men, 1962-1979

In this podcast, Professor Todd Shepard, historian at Johns Hopkins University, discusses his book Sex, France, and Arab Men, 1962-1979, which is a history of how and why, during the period from 1962 through 1979, highly sexualized claims about Arab men saturated important French public discussions. The sexual revolution in France, he argues, was profoundly shaped by the continuing effects of the Algerian war of liberation and its revolution.  Sex, France, and Arab Men reveals how the struggle for Algerian independence and the sexual revolution in France are intertwined moments. Oftentimes imagined as an American or European invention, Shepard demonstrates how the struggle for sexual liberation was shaped by and grew out of the mid-twentieth century worldwide anticolonial movements.  The monograph, his second, first appeared in France as Mâle décolonisation. “L’homme arabe” et la France, de l’indépendance algérienne à la révolution iranienne.

This podcast is a recorded keynote lecture of the February 2019 Harry Franck Guggenheim Foundation (HFG), CEMA and CEMAT workshop on violence and social sciences methodology, held in Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia. 

Interview with Mieczysław Boduszyński about his book: U.S. Democracy Promotion in the Arab World: Beyond Interests vs. Ideals

Episode 70: Interview with Mieczysław Boduszyński about his book: U.S. Democracy Promotion in the Arab World: Beyond Interests vs. Ideals

In this podcast, Professor Mieczysław Boduszyński discusses his forthcoming book, U.S. Democracy Promotion in the Arab World: Beyond Interests vs. Ideals (Lynne Rienner, 2019), which looks at the place of democracy promotion in American foreign policy. Though a key pillar of U.S. foreign policy, democracy promotion is the subject of significant debate within and outside of policy-making circles, especially regarding why, where, when, and how the United State promotes democracy. 

In this podcast, Prof. Boduszyński looks at the temporal shift in U.S. support for the 2011 Arab Uprisings during the Obama administration - first supporting and later retreating from democracy promotion - highlighting the longstanding tension between interests and ideals in U.S. foreign policy. The podcast concludes with a discussion on the Trump administration's policy on democratic promotion and its relationship with regional autocrats. 

Mieczysław (Mietek) Boduszyński is Assistant Professor of Politics and International Relations at Pomona College in California, USA. He was previously a diplomat with the U.S. Department of State with postings in Albania, Egypt, Iraq, Japan, Kosovo, and Libya.

Professor Jacob Mundy of Colgate University, and current Visiting Fulbright Scholar in Tunisia, led the interview, which was recorded as part of the Contemporary Thought series on March 20th, 2019 at the Centre d'Études Maghrébines à Tunis (CEMAT).

We thank our friend Mohamed Boukhoudmi for his interpretation of the extract of "Nouba Dziriya" by Dr. Noureddine Saoudi for the introduction and conclusion of this podcast.

Posted by Hayet Lansari, Librarian, Outreach Coordinator, Content Curator (CEMA).

Educational Transitions in Post-Revolutionary Spaces: Islam, Security, and Social Movements in Tunisia

Episode 69: Educational Transitions in Post-Revolutionary Spaces: Islam, Security, and Social Movements in Tunisia

In this podcast, Dr. Tavis D. Jules is interviewed on his recent book, Educational Transitions in Post-Revolutionary Spaces : Islam, Security and Social Movements in Tunisia, co-authored with Dr. Teresa Barton. Jules and Barton trace the development of Tunisia’s educational system to the 2010/2011 contestatory events that led to the Tunisian Revolution and embarked on a period of large-scale institutional reform, including education sector reform. This post-Revolutionary reform has primarily been concerned with providing young Tunisian citizens with the necessary skills for a rapidly changing job market.  In his presentation, Jules engages with the issue of how a strong educational system produced generations of educated citizens, but whose most recent generation is frustrated by a weakened socio-economic system unable to absorb a young and educated workforce.  The book itself traces the history and evolution of Tunisia’s educational system since independence in 1956 to the contemporary period,  and ties its analysis to an « educational transitologies framework ». Through several chapters, the book engages and explores themes related to education, including security, gender, political Islam and social movements and analyses these comparatively pre- and post-political transition which commenced in 2011. 

In this podcast, Dr. Jules was invited to answer a number of questions touching upon the following themes : 

• Definition of the concept of conscientization and its importance to understand the role of education.
• The common link that the book draws between education and Islam, security and social movements. 
• The book’s methodology to study 'educational transitologies' and what the example of Tunisia tells us about this theoretical framework. 

Dr. Tavis D. Jules is Associate Professor in Cultural and Educational Policy at Loyola University, specializing in Comparative and International Education. His research interests include, regionalism and governance, transitory spaces, and policy challenges in small island developing states (SIDS).

CEMAT Assistant Director Dr. Meriem Guetat, CEMAT led the interview, which was recorded as part of the Contemporary Thought series on December 13th, 2018 at the Centre d'Études Maghrébines à Tunis (CEMAT).

Posted by Hayet Lansari, Librarian, Outreach Coordinator, Content Curator (CEMA).

Contrôler la Casbah: la police coloniale à Alger et Marseille, 1920-1950

William Wordsworth and te French Revolution

Episode 67: William Wordsworth and te French Revolution 

Dr. Mounir Khélifa studied English at the Sorbonne and Yale University where he received his MA and PhD, respectively. A professor of English language and literature for more than three decades, he taught poetics, comparative literature, and literary theory at the University of Tunis. Former director of the graduate program in English, Dr. Khélifa was also a senior advisor to the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, where he was responsible for international cooperation and curriculum reform. Currently, Dr. Khélifa runs the School for International Training study-abroad program in Tunisia. He is a lifetime member of the Tunisian Academy for the Arts, Letters, and Sciences, Beit al-Hikma.

William Wordsworth was the only English poet of his generation to have been an eyewitness to the French Revolution. To the momentous event he devoted no less than three books in his autobiographical epic poem, The Prelude.

It is conventionally accepted that his relation to the revolution altered radically during the course of the events, and that this relation went from passionate enthusiasm at the storming of the Bastille to doubt and fear during the Reign of Terror to utter rejection and denial at the rise of Napoleon and during the ensuing Napoleonic Wars.    

Yet even as this doxa accounts for the poet’s changing attitude towards the revolution, it fails to explain the complex emotional and intellectual processes that activated the change.  It fails mainly to consider that the change occurs in a poem designed to ratify “the growth of the poetic mind.”  Wordsworth has no pretense to be a historian. His recounting of the revolutionary events, he warns the reader, is justified only insofar as the events have been “storm or sunshine to [his] mind.” 

Dr Mounir Khélifa argues that if the expression “storm and sunshine” refers to the aesthetic emotion known as the sublime (beauty that has terror in it, Edmund Burke), then this emotion never abated in him and that throughout his entire life he kept “daring sympathies with power” whenever he recalled the French Revolution.  

This lecture was co-organised by the Centre d'Études Maghrébines en Algérie (CEMA) and the École Normale Superieure d’Oran (ENS).

This episode is part of the Arts & Literature in the Maghrib lecture series and was recorded on April 24th,  2019, at the École Normale Supérieure d’Oran (ENS).

Pr. Sidi Mohamed Lakhdar Barka, Professor of Comparative Literature from the Department of English at University of Oran 2 moderated the lecture.

We thank Dr. Jonathan Glasser, Cultural Anthropologist at the College of William & Mary for his istikhbar in sika on viola for the introduction and conclusion of this podcast.

Tuning in to Morocco’s “Recitational Revival”

Episode 66: Tuning in to Morocco’s “Recitational Revival”

According to some religious leaders and other intellectuals, Morocco is in the midst of a 'recitational revival' (sahwa tajwidiyya). Though its scope and effectiveness are not yet clear, the intention is a re-emphasis on two core Islamic disciplines that relate to recitation of the Qur’an: first, tajwid, a system of rules that govern pronunciation and rhythm of the Qur’anic text in recitation performance; and the variance of those rules across seven, coherent, recitals or 'readings' (qira’at) that are equally sound. Within this revival, Moroccan’s historical preference for riwayat warsh, a lesser-practiced variant of one of the seven qira’at has become almost a point of national pride, and thus the Moroccan state has devoted many resources not only to specialist study of the qira’at, but also popularization of tajwid through mass media.

Engaging fieldwork at a variety of institutions, including new and pre-existing schools and state radio, in this Podcast, Ian VanderMeulen, doctoral candidate in Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies at New York University, maps an institutional framework of this revival and describes some of its core elements. In particular, he compares and contrasts the work going on at two institutions of qira’at study, the state-funded Ma‘had Muhammad Assadiss lil-dirasat wal-qira’at al-Qur’aniyya in Rabat, and the private Madrasat Ibn al-Qadi lil-qira’at in Sale. Taking inspiration from the growing field of 'sound studies,' and grounding his fieldwork in historical research on tajwid, the qira’at, and the history of sound recording, Ian suggests that the sahwa tajwidiiyya is less a 'revival' of previous practices of recitation per se, but a refashioning of such practices and their pedagogies through the application of new technologies, from modern classroom whiteboards to digital studio recording.

A performing musician, Ian holds bachelor’s degrees in music and religious studies from Oberlin College and an M.A. from The Graduate Center, City University of New York. His research in France and Morocco has been funded by NYU’s Graduate Research Initiative and the American Institute for Maghrib Studies.

l’Oasis de Jemna en Tunisie, entre dissidence et négociation

Episode 65: l'Oasis de Jemna en Tunisie, entre dissidence et négociation

• Tunisie, l’autre révolution. Essai, Tunis, Editions Cérès, 2018.  
• L’homme des questions. Hommage à Abdelkader Zghal (1930-2015), Tunis, Cérès Editions, 2016.  
• Hijâb. Nouveaux voiles et espaces publics, Tunis, Editions Cérès, 2010.
• Kairouan. Phare éternel de l’islam, Tunis, Editions Apollonia, 2009. 

• D’Islam et d’Ailleurs. Hommage à Clifford Geertz (1926-2006), Tunis, Cérès Editions, 2007. 
• Public et Privé en Islam. Espaces, autorités et libertés, Paris, Maisonneuve & Larose, 2002. 
• L'Autorité des Saints. Perspectives historiques et anthropologiques en Méditerranée Occidentale. Postface de Lucette Valensi, Paris, ERC, 1998. 

La conférence de Pr. Mohammed Kerrou a été programmée dans le cadre du cycle des conférences « Espaces et territoires au Maghreb » co-organisé par le Centre d'Études Maghrébines en Algérie (CEMA) et le Centre de Recherche en Anthropologie sociale et culturelle (CRASC) . Elle a eu lieu le 24 avril 2019 au CRASC.  Pr. Abdelkrim Elaidi, sociologue à l'Université d’Oran 2 a modéré le débat. 

Pour consulter les cartes associées à ce Podcast, veuillez visiter notre site web: www.themaghribpodcast.com

Nous remercions Dr. Tamara Turner, Ethnomusicologue et chercheure à Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Center for the History of Emotions pour son interprétation de Sidna Boulal du répertoire Hausa du Diwan (Hausa Sug).

Réalisation et montage: Hayet Lansari, Bibliothécaire / Chargée de la diffusion des activités scientifiques (CEMA). 

صناعة البحر المتوسط في المتخيلة الاسلامية، تصور المسلمين لمنطقة البحر المتوسط من خلال تاريخ الخرائط من القرن العاشر للقرن السادس عشر

Episode 64: صناعة البحر المتوسط في المتخيلة الاسلامية، تصور المسلمين لمنطقة البحر المتوسط من خلال تاريخ الخرائط من القرن العاشر للقرن السادس عشر

(In Arabic)

In this podcast, Dr. Tarek Kahlaoui presents his recent book, Creating the Mediterranean: Maps and the Islamic Imagination (Brill, 2017), in which he traces the depictions of the Mediterranean from from Islamic sources  dating between the 9th to the 16th century. During that span, he argues, the profession of map-makers shifted from bureaucratic authors to active mariners and professional cartographers, whereas the, from the dominance of the centers of the Islamic dominion in the eastern Islamic lands to the Maghrib. 

Dr. Kahlaoui (Ph.D University of Pennsylvania, 2008) is currently an assistant professor at the South Mediterranean University (Tunisia). He was formerly an assistant professor at Rutgers University and the general director of the Tunisian Institute of Strategic Studies. His research focuses on Mediterranean history and visual culture. 

Entretien avec Dr. Khadija Mohsen-Finan sur son dernier livre : Les Dissidents du Maghreb depuis les Independences

Episode 63: Entretien avec Dr. Khadija Mohsen-Finan sur son dernier livre : Les Dissidents du Maghreb depuis les Independences

Dans ce podcast, Dr. Meriem Guetat , Directrice Adjointe du CEMAT, s’entretient avec Dr.  Khadija Mohsen-Finan sur son dernier livre Les Dissidents du Maghreb depuis les Indépendences.

L’ouvrage de Dr. Khadija Mohsen-Finan est l’un des premiers travaux post-2011 qui s’intéressent au concept de la dissidence à travers le Maghreb (Algérie, Maroc, Tunisie) et qui se base sur une recherche rétrospective de longue durée. 

Dans cet episode, Dr. Mohsen-Finan souligne l’importance d’étudier l’histoire du Maghreb à travers le prisme de la dissidence, tout courants idéologiques confondus, ce qui constitue un renversement de la perspective traditionnelle de recherche se concentrant exclusivement sur le pouvoir. Selon Dr. Mohsen-Finan, il s’agit d’aborder une histoire méconnue du Maghreb qui permet de comprendre ses diffrentes évoultions historiques mais aussi d’interprèter et d’imaginer les développements politiques futures dans la région. 

Lors de cette conversation, Dr. Mohsen-Finan a été invitée à répondre à un nombre de questions s’articulant autour des thèmes suivant :

•     La définition de la notion de dissidence dans son ouvrage ainsi que le rapport du dissident au pouvoir. 
•     Les moments phares de l’histoire du Maghreb qui décrivent au mieux le rapport de lutte entre le pouvoir et ses opposants et ce en concentrant sur le  moment Youssefiste et de l’affaire Ahmed Ben Salah.
•     Le groupe « perspectives » en Tunisie et l’évolution de ses relations avec le pouvoir. 
•     Le rôle des défenseurs des droits humains et le rôle joué par la LTDH dans l’analyse de la Tunisie.  
•     Le printemps noir de Kabylie dans le cadre de la dissidence post-2011 et le rôle des minorités ethniques et linguistiques pour la compréhension de la notion de dissidence. 

Dr. Khadija Mohsen-Finan est politologue spécialiste du Maghreb et du monde arabe, Docteur en sciences politiques (IEP Paris) et diplômée d’histoire (Université d’Aix-en-Provence). Actuellement enseignante et chercheure à l’Université de Paris 1 - Panthéon Sorbonne (laboratoire SIRICE), elle enseigne parallèlement à l’Université Ca’Foscari de Venise. Elle contribue également au comité de rédaction et à l’animation du journal en ligne Orient XXI.

Cet épisode a été enregistré le 21 février 2019 au Centre d'Études Maghrébines à Tunis (CEMAT) et s'inscrit dans le cadre du cycle de conférences Pensées contemporaines.

Posted by Hayet Lansari, Librarian, Outreach Coordinator, Content Curator (CEMA).

Le trauma colonial: enquête sur les effets de l’oppression coloniale en Algérie

Episode 62: Le trauma colonial: enquête sur les effets de l’oppression coloniale en Algérie

Dans ce podcast, Karima Lazali, psychologue clinicienne / psychanalyste, présente son livre, Le trauma colonial: enquête sur les effets de l’oppression coloniale en Algérie (Éditions Koukou, 2018).

L’absence de travaux sur les effets psychiques de la colonisation en France et en Algérie, depuis Frantz Fanon, nous interpelle. Les effets du colonial relèvent-ils pour les deux sociétés d’une forme d’impensé à l’œuvre ? Malgré une forte présence dans les discours en Algérie de cet épisode de l’histoire, il n’empêche, que le recensement précis des problématiques dans les subjectivités et le social est resté lettre en souffrance.

A partir de sa pratique de la psychanalyse dans les deux sociétés et du constat freudien d’une étroite intrication entre l’individuel et le collectif, Karima Lazali va tenter d’entrer dans cet univers des mémoires ou l’archivage habituel fonctionne difficilement pour construire des récits pluriels et singuliers. La confiscation politique de l’histoire dans les deux sociétés mène à l’hypothèse que nous avons affaire à un pacte dans lequel l’effacement joue un rôle majeur pour fabriquer une mémoire brouillée. 

Dans ce podcast, Lazali aborde donc quelques questions fondamentales :

• Le rapport à la parole, aux peurs et aux censures dans la société contemporaine algérienne.
• Comment les subjectivités et la structure du politique ont été façonnés par un tissage politique qui porte et reconduit le système colonial.
• La fabrique de l’illégitimité individuelle et politique comme conséquences majeures de la colonisation
• L’apport de la littérature algérienne pour traiter et soigner des déchirures du collectif et des subjectivités troublées dans la construction des traces mémorielles.
• Et enfin si pour la psychanalyse il n’y a de trauma qu’individuel alors comment penser les déflagrations intimes d’une histoire collective ? Qu’est-ce que l’héritage à l’échelle du collectif ? Est-ce juste une manière passive de recevoir la destruction sur plusieurs générations ? Ou n’est-ce pas plutôt une façon d’écrire cette destruction quitte parfois à y participer durant de très nombreuses décennies ?  

La conférence de Karima Lazali a été programmée dans le cadre du cycle des conférences « Histoire du Maghreb, histoire au Maghreb » organisé par le Centre d'Études Maghrébines en Algérie (CEMA). Elle a eu lieu le 06 mars 2019 au CEMA.  Pr. Mohamed Mebtoul, sociologue, a modéré le débat. 

Nous remercions Dr. Jonathan Glasser, anthropologue culturel au College of William & Mary, pour son istikhbar in sika à l'alto pour l'introduction et la conclusion de ce podcast.

Réalisation et montage: Hayet Lansari, Bibliothécaire / Chargée de la diffusion des activités scientifiques (CEMA).