Of Irony and Empire: Islam, the West, and the Transcultural Invention of Africa

254 Pages·2007·1.68 MB·English

by  Laura Rice

I
rony

O
f
E
mpire

and
Islam, the West, and
the Transcultural Invention of Africa
Laura Rice
Of Irony and Empire
SUNY series
EXPLORATIONS
in
POSTCOLONIAL STUDIES
Emmanuel C. Eze and Arif Dirlik, Editors
A complete listing ofbooks in this series
can be found at the end ofthis volume.
Of Irony and Empire
Islam,the West,and the
Transcultural Invention of Africa
LAURA RICE
State University of New York Press
Published by
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS, ALBANY
© 2007 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
Nopart of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
without written permission.No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic,
electrostatic,magnetic tape,mechanical,photocopying,recording,or otherwise
without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
Chapter 2 is a modified version of the article “African Conscripts/European Conflicts:Race,
Memory,and the Lessons of War”Cultural Critique45 (Spring 2000):109–149.
Chapter 2 includes excerpts from Léopold Sedar Senghor’s “Liminary Poem,”“The Enlisted
Man’s Despair,”and “To the Senegalese Soldiers Who Died for France”from The Collected Poetry
of Léopold Sedar Senghor by Melvin Dixon, ed. (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press,
1991).These are reprinted with permission of the University Press of Virginia.
Chapter 4 includes segments from “Of Heterotopias and Ethnoscapes:The Production of Space
in Postcolonial North Africa”Critical Matrix14 (Fall 2003):36–75,and from the chapter “The
Maghreb of the Mind in Mustapha Tlili,Brick Oussaïd,and Malika Mokeddem”in the collec-
tion Maghrebian Mosaic:A Literature in Transition,edited by Mildred Mortimer,pp.119–150
(Boulder:Lynne Rienner,2001).
For information,contact State University of New York Press,Albany,NY
www.sunypress.edu
Production by Diane Ganeles
Marketing by Anne M.Valentine
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rice,Laura.
Of irony and empire :Islam,the West,and the transcultural invention of Africa /
Laura Rice.
p.cm.— (Suny series,explorations in postcolonial studies)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7914-7215-6 (hardcover :alk.paper)
1.Africa—Intellectual life.2.Islamic countries—Intellectual life.3.Africa—Relations—
Europe.4.Europe—Relations—Africa.5.Imperialism in literature.6.Irony in literature.
7.Imperialism in literature.8.War in literature.9.African literature—20th century—History
and criticism.10.Islamic literature—Africa—History and criticism.I.Title.
DT14.R495 2007
960—dc22
2006037450
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Karim
his intellect,an oasis
his imagination,wind in the palms

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Chapter One Prologue:Of Irony and Empire 1
Chapter Two African Conscripts/European Conflicts:
Race,Memory,and the Lessons of War 45
Chapter Three Ambiguous Adventure:
Reading Cheikh Hamidou Kane 79
Chapter Four Heimlich un-Heimlich:Of Home as
Heterotopia in Salih,Tlili,and Mokeddem 125
Chapter Five Epilogue:The Ends of Irony 175
Notes 197
Bibliography 207
Index 225
SUNY series,Explorations in Postcolonial Studies 241
vii

Acknowledgments
This book is the fruit of the labor of many people who helped me turn over
and plow through the rich soil of irony and transcultural invention on two
continents. In both the U.S. and Tunisia, many colleagues offered steadfast
support for work in postcolonial studies.Joseph Krause,chair of Foreign Lan-
guages and Literatures, and Tracy Daugherty, chair of English, have sup-
ported comparative literature through thin times.Tracy read the entire man-
uscript of a very early version as did Alan Thomas of University of Chicago
Press.Jack Van de Water and Chris Sproul from International Programs vis-
ited me in Tunisia to encourage my research,and provided continuous support
in more than one way; Lisa Ede, Betty Campbell, Anita Helle,Vicki Tolar
Burton, Jennifer Cornell,Tina Carnegie, Marjorie Sandor, and Heidi Bray-
man-Hackel shared their critical acumen;Chris Anderson read an early ver-
sion of a chapter;Richmond Barbour discussed with me our common inter-
est;Rich Daniels and Bob Wess provided political commentary.The late Jim
Draper, a dear friend sorely missed, was a model of engaged activism. I
acknowledge the financial support from Fulbright and the American Institute
for Maghreb Studies (AIMS) to conduct field research in North Africa.Ore-
gon State University supported me through various research awards. David
Robinson and Wendy Madar at the Center for the Humanities provided a
wonderful place to work. In Tunisia, among the many colleagues whose
insights have enriched my life, I would like to thank especially Monia and
Leila Hejaiej, Khadija Arfaoui and Samira Mechri, as well as Jim Miller,
director of the Centre d’études maghrébines à Tunis (CEMAT).Many of the
ideas that went into shaping this book came not from academia,but from my
extended family and friends from southern Tunisia.Their expertise at irony,
mastery of Joha stories, and commentary on global politics were invaluable.
My own experts of irony,at home with me on both continents,are precious
and their insights run throughout this book;it is with love and gratitude that
I thank Karim,Rob,and John,my fellow travelers.
ix