Violent Modernity: France in Algeria

In Violent Modernity: France in Algeria, Abdelmajid Hannoum examines the advent of political modernity in Algeria and shows how colonial modernity was not only a project imposed by violence, but also a violent project in and of itself, involving massive destruction and significant transformation of the population of Algeria. The author analyzes the relation between culture and events and demonstrates how the culture of violent modernity was generative of violent events, the most notorious and tragic of which were the spectacular mass killings of the 1990's, usually referred to as "the Algerian civil war." This, the author argues, cannot be explained without an understanding of colonial modernity.

"It is truly a masterpiece in many ways. It certainly is the first (to my knowledge) to make sense of the colonial archives in such a way as to explain the horrific violence that Algeria has experienced in past decades. It is beautifully written-clear, astute, and narratively engaging."-Deborah Kapchan, New York University

Abdelmajid Hannoum teaches anthropology and African Studies at the University of Kansas. He is the author of colonial Histories, Postcolonial Memories.