A Semite: A Memoir of Algeria PDF
Preview A Semite: A Memoir of Algeria
a s e m i t e A Me m o i r o f A l g e r i a D e n i s G u e n o u n Foreword by Judith Butler A Semite A Semite A Memoir of Algeria Denis Guénoun Translated from French by Ann and William Smock columbia university press new york Cet ouvrage a bénéficié du soutien des Programmes d’aide à la publication de l’Institut français. This work, published as part of a program of aid for publication, received support from the Institut français. Cet ouvrage, publié dans le cadre du programme d’aide à la publication, béné- ficie du soutien du Ministère des Affaires Etrangères et du Service Culturel de l’Ambassade de France répresenté aux Etats-Unis. This work received support from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the United States through their pub- lishing assistance program. Columbia University Press Publishers Since 1893 New York Chichester, West Sussex cup.columbia.edu Copyright © 2002 Circe Translation copyright © 2014 Columbia University Press All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Guénoun, Denis, 1946– author. [Sémite. English] A Semite : a memoir of Algeria / by Denis Guénoun ; translated from French by Ann and William Smock. p. cm. isbn 978-0-231-16402-3 (cloth : alk. paper) — isbn 978-0-231-53724-7 (electronic) 1. Guénoun, Denis, 1946– 2. Jews—Algeria—Oran—Biography. 3. Algeria— History—Revolution, 1954–1962—Personal narratives. 4. Jews, Algerian— France—Biography. I. Smock, Ann, 1944– translator. II. Smock, William, trans- lator. III. Title. DS135.A3G8413 2013 944’.0049240651—dc23 [B] 2013023432 Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid- free paper. This book is printed on paper with recycled content. Printed in the United States of America c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Jacket design: Noah Arlow References to websites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the author nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared. for Léo, Hélio and Nathan, Sarah and Faustine, Abel, Marius, Lucas, and Antoine contents Foreword by Judith Butler ix Chronology of French/Algerian History xxi I. December 1, 1940 1 II. June 22, 1961 67 III. November 6, 1989 127 foreword Judith Butler This book is clearly a memoir, but settling on the genre does very little to orient us toward what is to come. The title, A Sem- ite, seems to identify one among several Semites. And yet, sev- eral questions emerge as the story begins: What is a “Semite”? And who is included within its terms? Who talks this way? And under what conditions is anyone called a “Semite” or describes oneself through this term? The word, of course, haunts from the start, since we know it most clearly through the history of anti-Semitism. “Anti-Semitism” is a confusing word for many reasons. It is not an opposition to “Semitism,” since it would be unclear what an ideology of the Semite might be. But it is an opposition to the “Semite” that has itself assumed ideologi- cal form. But what or who does the anti-Semite oppose? And if anti-Semitism is a set of beliefs, a mode of being, an ideological
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