Identité linguistique et culturelle dans le roman franco-maghrébin

Abstract

For more than thirty years, a literary space produced by young French authors of North African origin has emerged in France. This movement made its entry into stage with the publication of Mehdi Charef’s Tea in the Harem in 1983. More than twenty texts, testimonies and fictional narratives, which address complex themes, such as: national identity, identity, malaise affecting French characters of North African origin, cultural hybridity and return to the country of ancestors have been known under the label of “beur literature”. Although several critics predicted the death of this movement, it has evolved and developed greatly after the riots of 1991, 1995 and 2005. A new generation of writers, having focused on the marginalization of people living in outskirts, is now known under the label of “literature of outskirts”. This thesis aims to present the relationships, similarities and differences, between these two streams (“beur literature” and “literature of outskirts”). It is structured around three parts : the first studies the historical and sociopolitical conditions of French citizens of North African Origin after the massive immigration of the first generation (early 1950’s) until our days and different cultural, artistic and especially literary events revealed by this population ; the second deals primarily with the way in which the linguistic and cultural identities are represented in three books written by so-called “beurs” authors: Azouz Begag, Mehdi Charef and Ferrudja Kessas and three books written by authors belonging to this new generation called “of outskirts”: Faïza Guène, Rachid Djaïdani and Kaoutar Harchi; the third part studies polyphony, dialogism and intertextuality in these six books and their reception in the hexagonal literary field.

Date of Award	17 Sept 2015
Original language	French
Supervisor	Ricard Ripoll Villanueva (Director)