The Invention of the Maghreb: Between Africa and the Middle East

The Maghreb was a distinct geographical entity under French colonial rule, invented long before the conquest of Algiers and lasted until independence. Abdelmajid Hannoum's book explores how colonialism used translations of Greek, Roman, and Arabic texts and high technologies of power to reconfigure the region and invent it, analyzing various forms of colonial knowledge and local engagement with colonial politics.

Format: Hardback
Length: 328 pages
Publication date: 10 June 2021
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

The Maghreb region, which was under French colonial rule, stood apart from two other geographical entities that were also products of colonial imagination: the Middle East and Africa. In his book, Abdelmajid Hannoum explores the origins and evolution of the Maghreb, from its inception before the conquest of Algiers to the present day, and even beyond. Through an interdisciplinary examination of French colonial modernity, Hannoum delves into how colonialism employed the translation of Greek, Roman, and Arabic texts and utilized advanced power technologies to reshape and reinvent the region. He analyzes a diverse range of colonial knowledge, including historiography, anthropology, cartography, literature, archaeology, linguistics, and racial theories. Hannoum demonstrates how local interactions with colonial politics and its modes of knowledge played a crucial role in the modern formation of the Maghreb, including its postcolonial era, as a unified entity separate from Africa and the Middle East.

The Maghreb region, which was under French colonial rule, stood apart from two other geographical entities that were also products of colonial imagination: the Middle East and Africa.

In his book, Abdelmajid Hannoum explores the origins and evolution of the Maghreb, from its inception before the conquest of Algiers to the present day, and even beyond.

Through an interdisciplinary examination of French colonial modernity, Hannoum delves into how colonialism employed the translation of Greek, Roman, and Arabic texts and utilized advanced power technologies to reshape and reinvent the region.

He analyzes a diverse range of colonial knowledge, including historiography, anthropology, cartography, literature, archaeology, linguistics, and racial theories.

Hannoum demonstrates how local interactions with colonial politics and its modes of knowledge played a crucial role in the modern formation of the Maghreb, including its postcolonial era, as a unified entity separate from Africa and the Middle East.

Weight: 590g
Dimension: 158 x 234 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781108838160
Edition number: New ed