French Decolonization in Global Perspective

Conference organized by Jessica Pearson (Macalester College) and Herrick Chapman(NYU).

This conference will explore the process of French decolonization in the twentieth century in the context of broad global developments, movements, ideas, and policies.  It aims to evaluate recent trends in the fields of French history and the history of decolonization and to suggest possible avenues for future inquiry.  It will focus on several intersecting themes, such as decolonization and European integration, the rise of international organizations and the role they played in shaping French decolonization, and the Algerian War in global context.

9:30 – 9:45 a.m. Opening Remarks
Herrick Chapman, New York University
Jessica Pearson, Macalester College

9:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Decolonizing Development
“Fashioning the Future: Global Catholicism at the End of Empire in French West Africa”
Rachel Kantrowitz, Brown University

“Decolonizing ‘la brousse’? Medical Expertise and Rural Health in Cameroon after Independence”
Sarah Runcie, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

“A French Meritocracy in Independent Morocco? Educational Cooperation between France and Morocco since Moroccan Independence”
Frédéric Viguier, New York University

Moderator: Tony Haouam, New York University
Discussant: Charlotte-Walker Said, CUNY, John Jay College of Criminal Justice

1:30 – 3:00 p.m. Global Visions of Empire and Independence
“Le Rallye Alger‐le‐Cap: Racing Towards Eurafrica?”
Megan Brown, Swarthmore College

“Peripheral Visions of the Metropole: Frenchness in the Age of Decolonization”
Burleigh Hendrickson, Dickinson College

Moderator: Allison Korinek, New York University
Discussant: Liz Fink, Sarah Lawrence College

3:15 – 4:45 p.m. From the Civilizing Mission to Counterinsurgency: Algeria and Indochina in Global Context
“Indochina in the Balance: Colonial Reform and Resistance under the Popular Front”
M. Kathryn Edwards, Tulane University

“Think Global, Fight Local: Recontextualizing the French Army in Algeria, 1954‐1962”
Terrence Peterson, Florida International University

Moderator: Erik Meddles, New York University
Discussant: Frederick Cooper, New York University

In English