Caribbean postcolonial thinkers today:thecases of

TorunReiteChristophePremat

Travelling theories ?

FrantzFanon Aimé Césaire&

Sourcesfortheimages

• Fanon,source:Wikipedia,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Frantz_Fanon.jpg

• Césaire,source:ParJeanBaptisteDevaux,CCBY-SA4.0,https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39217586

Travellingtheories:identifying thecolonial(patterns)connections• FanonandCésaireareperceivedaskeyfiguresinpostcolonialstudiesworkingonthesocialalienation/emancipationrelationsunder/aftercolonialism(Ashcroft,Griffiths,Tiffin,1995)• BothwerefromMartiniquewheretheyexperiencedcolonialismasaEuropeanorderimposedintheCaribbeanzone.FanonleftMartiniqueforFranceandAlgeriaandisperceivedasastrongreferenceforanticolonialmovements,Césaireinitiatedaliterarymovement,thenégritude thattranslatedintopoliticsandpoeticstheemancipationofcolonizedsocieties.• « C´estseulementavecl´apparitiond´AiméCésairequ´onapuvoirnaîtreunerevendication,uneassomptiondelanégritude »(Fanon,1952:124-125).• Boththinkershaveadualprofessionaltrajectory,CésaireisengagedwithLiteratureandpoliticswhereasFanon´sworksmixpoliticalthoughtwithpsychiatry.StronginfluenceofJean-PaulSartreonboththinkers.

Geospatiallifetrajectories

Césaire andFanonbothwentMartiniquetoParis,France.WhereasCésaire returnedtoMartinique,FanonwenttoAlgeria.ThroughtheconnectiontoFrenchintellectuals,FanonliaisedwiththeintellectualfoundersoftheliberationmovementsincoloniesofPortugalinAfrica,wenttoTunisiaandwasanambassadortoAlgeriainAccra,Ghana.InGhanaheliaisedwiththepoliticalleadersandliberationmovementleadersinmanyAfricancountries

Transatlantic-Africannexuses/connections

• TheperceptionoftheCaribbeanasanintermediaryzonebetweenAfricaandAmerica(s)• Zoneofmétissage?• Culturalheritageasaformofhybridity(typicalpostcolonialheritage)(Mukundi,2010)• Transshipment /Creolization• Édouard Glissant (strengthofrelations,thepowerofconnections)

Travellingtheories:identifying thecolonialconnections• Thelink totheCaribbeanzoneis notthesame.Fanonleft theCaribbeanzoneforFranceandthen Algeria whereas CésairecamebacktoMartinique.ForFanon,theCaribbeanis acolonialspace.• Same experience ofracism forCésairewith themovement ofnégritude(« lenègret´emmerde »);experience ofdaily racism (« maman,regardeunnègre »,Fanon,1952:90).« Lenègrel´ignore,aussilongtempsquesonexistencesedérouleaumilieudessiens;maisaupremierregardblanc,ilressentlepoidsdesamélanine »(Fanon,1952:122).• « Lebeaunègrevousemmerdemadame! »(Fanon,1952:92).• Research question:Which factors empowered CésaireandFanon´sradicalcriticism ofcolonialism?

Acomplete denounciation of thecolonialdomination inboth works• 1)In/Out Caribbean,(re)connecting spaces• 2)Thestrongpolitical message inboth works (psychiatric andsocialalienation)• 3)Thelegacy of FanonandCésaire:finding anewlanguage ofemancipation

1)AiméCésaire(1913-2008)/FrantzFanon(1925-1961)Somebiographicalcharacteristics• AiméCésaireandFanonwereborninMartinique(Basse-PointeforCésaireandFort-de-FranceforFanon).• FanonhadCésaireasateacher.Attheendofthewar,healsosupportedthepoliticalcampaignofAiméCésaire.• Exposedtoabourgeoisbackgroundandawell-integratedfamily,Fanon´sliferadicalizedhisperspectivesandformedhisviewontheimpactofcolonization– bringinghim(ideologically)closertoCésaire

1)Césaire andtheNégritudemovement

• Césaire didnotlikethebourgeoisieofMartiniqueasthisclassadoptedfakevaluesfromtheEuropeanelite.ThetraveltoFranceinthethirtiesisimportant.• Heiswell-knowforhisdenounciation ofcolonialismandthecreationofthenégritudemovementwithLéonGontran-Damas andLéopoldSédar-Senghor.• Thenégritude wasnotfirstatheoreticalperspective,itwasascream,areactionagainstdailyracism(”Lenègre t´emmerde!”).Perspectiveofself-confidence/socialvisibility/equality• TheconsciousnessofcolonialrelationsinMartiniquepreceeded FanoninCésaire´s work

1)Césaire(politician andwriter)

• InfluenceoftheCommunist partyin1945.Césairewas oneofthetwoCommunist MPs representing MartiniqueattheFrenchNationalAssembly(Armet,1973:83).Fanonquoted oneofthespeechesofCésaireasapolitician in1945.« Quandjetourneleboutondemaradio,quej´entendsqu´enAmériquedesnègressontlynchés,jedisqu´onnousamenti:Hitlern´estpasmort… »(Fanon,1952:76).Reference tonazismisprevailing inCésaire andFanon´sthoughts• Hewas elected asamayor ofFort-de-Franceinthe27thofMay1945.WhereasFanonlived andworked asapsychiatrist inAlgeria,Césairewas aspokespersonforMartiniquewith thepoor socialconditionsofpeoplelivinginthecountryside.• « Faitesdematêteunetêtedeproue/etdemoi-même,moncœur,nefaitesniunpère,niunfrère/niunfils,maislepère,lefrère,maislefils,/niunmari,maisl´amantdecetuniquepeuple »(Césaire,1983:49).Noteboook ofaReturntotheNativeLand

1)Césaire(politician andwriter)

• ”Inthis inerttown,this desolate throng underthesun,notconnectedwith anything that isexpressed,asserted,released inbroadearthday-light,its own.Notwith Josephine,Empress of theFrench,dreaming way up there above theniggerscum.Norwith theliberatorfixed inhis whitewashed stone liberation”(Césaire,2013:5).Theliberator here isToussaint Louverture.• Imagesof loneliness,ontological disconnection (simply put:asenseofunbelonging).Thehorizon of radical alienationisprevailing (the”whitewashed stone liberation”).

1)Fanon´s thinking

• Thecontinualshiftingbetweenpoliticsandpsychiatry,betweenthesocialandthesubjective,betweentheunconsciousandhistory,isoneofthemostoriginalfeaturesofFanon’swork.• Inhisthesis,helinkedthreedimensionsofalienation:thesubjective,thecultural,andthepolitical.• IntheintroductiontoBlackSkin,WhiteMaskshealsoemphasizedthat“alongsidephylogenyandontogeny,thereisalsosociogeny (Fanon2008:xv).• Fanonunderscoresthesituatedness ofhisanalysis– instrongcontrasttothestructuralist theoristsofhistime• ComparedtoCésaire,heemphasizesthefundamentalneedforsocialaction–revolutionaryaction.Evenifhehasapostcoloniallegacy,alltheleadersofrevolutionarymovementsagainstcolonizationwereinspiredbyFrantzFanon(Macey,2011).

1)Some works ofCésaireandFanon

• Cahiersd´unretouraupaysnatal (1939).(Many differentversionsofthis text,Davis,1997:21).• Esclavageetcolonisation (1948)• Discourssurlecolonialisme(1950)• Discourssurlanégritude(1987)

• Peaunoire,masquesblancs(1952)• L´anVdelaRévolutionalgérienne(1959)• LesDamnésdelaTerre(1961)• PourlaRévolutionAfricaine(1964)• Écritssurl´aliénationetlaliberté(2015)• Various publicationsonPsychiatry

1)TravellingandlinkingtoAfricanliberationmovements• Ghana:Intheyearperiodfrom1947to1966KwameNkrumahwentfrompoliticalorganizer,torevolutionarypartyleader,torevolutionarysaint,tosupremeleaderofaonepartystate,tofather-of-his-country-in-exile.• GhanawasthefirstAfricancolonytogainitsindependenceanditdidsopolitically.

• Fanonmetwithmanypoliticalleadersduringhistimeasanambassador• Travellingtheory:from Caribbean spaces toAfrica,there arecommonfeatures which arelinked tocolonialsystems.There is anecessity tode-colonize,but the optics of decolonization will not be sufficient towin asocialsituation of autonomy.

1)Factors fuelling these (re)connections

• Fanon´s life trajectory• Fanon´s multiple lenses (individual,cultural,political and social)anddiscussions on interrelations echoes indifferent disciplinesand socio-political movements• Although Fanon´s theories were developed priortothe spatial turn insocialtheories the examples demonstrate their continued relevancetowards the untangling of the interplay between socialand economicorders of spatial stratification associated with decolonization on onehand,and the individuals´ embodied and often conflicting orders ofspatialization of socioculturalpractices

2)Thestrongpolitical message inboth works(psychiatric andsocialalienation)

• Difference of style.Césaire uses theefficiency of poetry andtheatertocondemn theabsolutescandale of colonization anditsconsequences.He also writes asanessayist(political meaning)• Distinction tomakebetween decolonization andindependency.ManyAfrican countries were decolonized but were notindependent.Thedecolonization isnotsufficient tostruggle against theconsequencesof colonization.

2)Thestrongpolitical message inboth works

• Caribbeanis fullofcolonialspaces forFanon.What happens intheFrench-speaking islands,happened fortheSpanish-speaking islands.Afootnote ismentioned:« signalonsquelesCaraïbesontsubilemêmesort,delapartdesaventuriersespagnolsetfrançais »(Fanon,1952:119)• ColonialviolenceinMartinique,thepupils learn howtobehave like aWhiteperson,they learn thehistory ofWhitepeople(School bookswith« NosancêtreslesGaulois »,Fanon,1952:120).• « Mais,c´estquel´AntillaisnesepensepasNoir;ilsepenseAntillais.LenègrevitenAfrique.Subjectivement,intellectuellement,l´AntillaissecomportecommeunBlanc »(Fanon,1952:120).• ForFanon,MartiniqueandGuadeloupearenotseen asspaces ofhybridity,creolization.« IlyavaitaussiauxAntillescepetithiatusquiexisteentrelabékaille,lamulâtraille etlanégraille »(Fanon,1952:89).

2) Thestrongpolitical message inboth works

• Astrong tributetothemovement ofnégritude.Fanonquotes alotCésaireasoneofthefirstthinkers tostart therevolt (Fanon,1952:100).Ambivalentrelationtotheother frontfigureofnégritude,LéopoldSédar-Senghor.Thereis atributetopoems ofSédar-SenghorbutSédar-Senghoradopts anessentialistic perspectivebyrefinding negrovaluesthat existedbefore colonialism.Revolutionary perspectiveofFanon.Even ifFanonrecognized thenecessity ofrevolt through négritude,he distanced himselffrom this movement asit could fix aperceptionofBlack/Whiterelations(Lane,2012:135)• « Audébut,nousvoulionsnouscantonnerauxAntilles.Maisladialectique,coûtequecoûte,reprendledessusetnousavonsétéobligédevoirquel´AntillaisestavanttoutunNoir »(Fanon,1952:139).

2)Thestrong political messageinboth works

• Discourse oncolonialism (1950)• « Thefact is that theso-called European civilization – ‟Westernʺcivilization – asit hasbeenshaped bytwo centuriesofbourgeoisrule,is incapableofsolving thetwo majorproblems towhich its existencehasgiven rise:theproblem oftheproletariat andthecolonialproblem »(Césaire,2000:31)• « Andsince Ihavebeenasked tospeak aboutcolonization andcivilization,letusgostraighttotheprincipalliethat is thesourceofalltheothers.Colonization andcivilization? »(Césaire,2000:32).

2)Thestrongpolitical message inboth works

• Fanonperceived thecolonial systemasacontact of racesalways infavour of aspecificcategory.You are white because you are rich andyou are rich because you are white.Monopole of power.

• Model of socialpsychology.Internalization of adeep structure of domination.Internalization of afundamentallackof self-confidence.Inpsychiatry,you had theterribleexperience of white andeuropean psychiatrists taking care of Blackpatients.

• RiskforFanon:thedecolonization could beacollusion between anationalbourgeoisieandacolonizing bourgeoisiethat could perpetuate thecolonial rule (Jinadu,1976:612).

• Fanonexperiences colonial racism inFort-de-Francein1940.After thedefeat of France in1940,many French citizens travel toFort-de-Franceandimportthestructures of Frenchcolonialism.This experience provoked therevolutionary consciousness of Fanon.Evenwhen blackpeople succeeded intheir studies,they were perceived asNegroes,whichmeans aninferior race(Haddab,2004).Textof Fanon(”Antillais etAfricains”):”Leshistoires raciales ne sont qu´une superstructure,qu´un manteau,qu´une lourdeémanation idéologique,revêtant une réalité économique”.

2)Thestrong political messagesinboth works

• Thereis adeep contradictioninthecolonialsystem.Thecolonialsystemestablishes adistinctionbetween thewhiteandtheblackconditions(whiteness andblackness refer toontological categories ofdominating (dominated)butatthesame timethose who try tolooklike whitepeoplewill never beenrecognized.• Thecolonialsystemdoes notgive any space foremancipation.Evenpeoplewho want toabide bythecolonialnorms will never be treatedaswhitepeople.Theabsenceofperspectivecompels colonizedpeopletoreact.

3)Thelegacy of FanonandCésaire:finding anewlanguage of emancipation

• Some authors affirm that thepoliticization ofCésairefragilized themoreradicalmessagehe had inhis works (Confiant,1993).• Strong debate onthelegacy ofCésaire(Toumson,Henry-Valmore,1993;Ngal,1974;LeBrun,1994).• AiméCésaire,l´inconsolé(Toumson,Henry-Valmore,1993):heaccompanied thedifferent steps ofemancipation inCaribbeanandinAfrica buthe never saw therealindependencies.Somethingis unachieved.• AchilleMbembé dealswith theidea today of« afropolitanism »toadapt anewform ofcosmopolitanism which is too closetotheneoliberalglobalization.Critiquedelaraisonnègre(Mbembé,2013:6-10).

3)Fanonian practice and thinking today

SouthAfricaExample 1:”Mashupye HerbertMaserumule(2015)wrote anessayforthe RandDaily Mailon why the “influence of SteveBiko isasapttoday asitwasinthe 1980s”.”Maserumuleobserves that BlackConsciousness seems toappealtothe “country’s black youth born after the endof apartheidin1994”andquotes FrantzFanon,who said:“Each generation must,out of relativeobscurity,discover its mission,fulfill itorbetray it.”

3)Examples of Fanon todaySouth AfricaExample 2Mail &Guardian,August 25,2017Reference toThe Wretched of the EarthCriticism of Zuma and hisInterventions on voteinParliament

3)Thelegacy of FanonandCésaire:finding anewlanguage of emancipation• FanondiscussedundertheArabSpring(Alessandrini2014)• Inongoingstrugglesagainstracism,oppression,anddehumanization(suchas#BlackLivesMatterintheUnitedStates)andforthedecolonizationofhighereducation(suchas#RhodesMustFalland#FeesMustFallinSouthAfrica)

• UnpublishedreflectionsofMozambicanformerfreedomfighteronFanoninMozambique:• probably,theethnic-socialoriginofAmilcarCabral,AgostinhoNetoandMarcelinodosSantosinfluencedtheirnon-rejectionofthecolonizer.Neto,CabralandMarcelinodosSantos,bybirthwerenottotallyblack- intheirveinscirculatedthebloodofthe"other.”

• ByadoptingMarxist/socialistideologiesracebecamesubsumedbytheclassstruggle• Socialistideology– focusontheNEWMAN– theirattitudewasdistinctfromtheNegritudeandtheBlackConsciousnessmovement.

• AspatialreadingofFanon:Bordersandboundaries.Materialandmental.- spatializingsocioculturalpractices

• EveninBrazil– theracialaspectsofFanonwerenotembracedinthe60s– butemergedlater

Conclusions

• MutualrespectandtributesbetweenCésaire andFanon.FanonreadCésaire whoreadFanon.AboutFanon,Césaire declaredthatitwasnecessarytoreadPeau noire,masquesblancs fortheunderstandingofthebrutalityofcolonialismandthenLesDamnés delaTerrefortheunderstandingofdecolonization(Lucrèce,2011).

• TwoattitudesontherelationtoCaribbean.Fanondiedintheearly1960sandCésaire in2008.Thedifferenceisobviouslyduetotheevolutionofsocialcontexts.ForFanon,CaribbeanisperceivedastheimportzoneofcolonialpatternswhereasCésaire referstothehorizonofsocialemancipation.HerepresentedMartiniquewiththeriskoffacingthecontradictionsofFrenchpoliciesforoverseasdepartments.

• InCaribbean,otherpostcolonialthinkersexpressedtheiridentityinotherways(Creolization withPatrickChamoiseau,thephilosophyofrelationsofÉdouard Glissant).Maryse Condéalsotriedtogooverthisstrongheritageasbothfigurearekindoffoundingfathersofstudieson(de)colonization(Selao,2016).

• TheyhaveastronglegacyastheycouldconnectsocialproblemsofCaribbeantoAfrica.

Conclusion(2)• Thegeospatial expansionoflifetrajectories– linking tointellectuals,revolutionaries andpolitical elite

• Themultidisciplinary nature– multifaceted theories – resonate with many disciplinary spaces• Thedualprofessions

• Allthree factors fuelling mobility,(re)connections– transfer tonewspaces - travellingtheories• Critical massofcontemporary thinkers intheCaribbean• IntheCaribbeancaseracialandethnic socialstratificationchanged overtime– this isreflected,particularly inFanon´s texts.TheMartiniquais(e)represented themiddletierbetween thewhiteandtheblackplantationworker.Thiscreated tensionsbetween(un)belonging tothe(un)priveledged.Their positioncould havegiven astronger voice (andagency)compared toother colonized theorists

• Shared livingexperience ofalienation (unbelonging/ontological disconnection (that Fanonlabels:social,culturalandsubjectivealienation)

• Thepolitical,economical andsocialorganisationoftheCaribbeancolonialsystem– andparticularly theoneofMartinique,seems toresonate with other colonialsystems thusaccentuating thepoweroftheir theories

• Here again,could theCaribbean´s geographical locationandgeopolitical importancealsoaccentuate thepoweroftheir theories?

Theoretical perspectives

• Three journals inour department (Iberoamericana,Karib,NordicJournalofFrancophoneStudies)• Morefocusonpostcolonialstudies andproblems (aswe teach andwork with postcoloniallanguages)• Pedagogical aspects(tools forstimulating theself-confidenceaspectsinhigher education).Strong messageofFanonandCésaireis usefuloutside political perspectives.

References• Armet,A.(1973).”AiméCésaire,hommepolitique”,Étudeslittéraires,vol.6,n.1:81-96.• Ashcroft,B.,Griffiths,G.,Tiffin,H.(1995).Thepostcolonialstudiesreader.LondonandNewYork:Routledge.

• Beneduce,R.(2006).”L´apportdeFrantzFanonàl´ethnopsychiatriecritique”,Eres,n.89:85-100.• Césaire,A.(1983)[1939].Cahierd´unretouraupaysnatal.Paris/Montréal:Présenceafricaine.• Césaire,A.(2000).Discourseoncolonialism.TranslatedbyJoanPinkham.Apoeticsofanticolonialism,RobinD.G.Kelley.NewYork:MonthlyReviewPress.

• Césaire,A.,Eshleman,C.,&Arnold,J.(2013).TheOriginal1939NotebookofaReturntotheNativeLand:BilingualEdition.Middletown,CT:Wesleyan.

• Confiant,R.(1993).AiméCésaire:unetraverséeparadoxaledusiècle.Paris:Stock.• Davis,G.(1997).AiméCésaire.Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.• Fanon,F.(1952).Peaunoire,masquesblancs.Paris:Seuil.• Fanon,F.(1955).AntillaisetAfricains.Paris:Esprit.• Fanon,F.(1961).TheWretchedoftheEarth.

References

• Gibson,N.(1999)RethinkingFanon.TheContinuingDialogue.HumanityBooks.NewYork.

• Gibson&Beneduce (2017),FrantzFanon,PsychiatryandPolitics.WitsUniversityPress.• Haddab,M.(2004).“Laviolenceetl´histoire dans lapensée deFrantzFanon”,Insaniyat:27-35.

• Jinadu L.Adele.(1976).”Language andPolitics:OntheCultural Basisof Colonialism”,Cahiers d´études africaines,vol.16,n.63-64:603-614.

• Kipfer,S.(2005)Fanonandspace:colonization,urbanization,andliberationfromthecolonialtotheglobalcity,EnvironmentandPlanningD:SocietyandSpace2007,volume25,pages701-726.

• Lane,(2012).“LeavingtheSouth:FrantzFanon,ModernJazzandtheRejectionofNégritude”.In:MartinMunro,CeliaBritton(eds.),AmericanCreoles,TheFrancophoneCaribbeanandtheAmericanSouth.Liverpool:LiverpoolUniversityPress:129-146.

• LeBrun,A.(1994).PourAiméCésaire.Paris:J.-M.Place.

References

• Lucrèce,A.(2011).FrantzFanonetlesAntilles.Paris:Leteneur.• Macey,D.(2011).FrantzFanon,unevie.Paris:LaDécouverte.• Mbembé,A.(2013).Critiquedelaraisonnègre.Paris:Ladécouverte.• Mukundi,PaulM.(2010).PreventingThingsfromFallingFurtherApart:thePreservationofCulturalIdentitiesinPostcolonialAfrican,IndianandCaribbeanLiteratures.London:AdonisandAbbeyPublishers.

• Ngal,G.(1974).AiméCésaire,unhommeà larecherche d´une patrie.Paris:Présenceafricaine.

• Razanajao,C.,Postel,J.(2007).”Lavieetl´œuvre psychiatrique deFrantzFanon”,Sud/Nord, 1(n.22):147-174.

• Renault,M.(2014).””Desinventeurs d´âmes”– Fanon,lecteur deCésaire”,RueDescartes,vol.83,n.4:22-35.

• Selao,C.(2016).”Maryse Condé etlespères fondateurs delaCaraïbe francophone”,Études françaises:73-90.