Chafer T., Majumdar M.A. (Eds.) Routledge Handbook of Francophone Africa

Routledge, 2024. — 504 p., 16 B/W Ill. — ISBN: 978-1032586069.The Routledge Handbook of Francophone Africa brings together a multidisciplinary team of international experts to reflect on the history, politics, societies, and cultures of French-speaking parts of Africa.
Consisting of approximately 35% of Africa’s territory, Francophone Africa is a shifting concept, with its roots in French and Belgian colonial rule. This handbook develops and problematizes the term, with thematic sections covering:
*Colonial and post-colonial ties between France and sub-Saharan Africa;
*Belgium, Belgian colonialism and Africa;
*The Maghreb;
*African Francophones in France;
*Francophone African literature and film;
*‘Francophone’ and ‘Anglophone’ Africa;
*Beyond national boundaries and ‘colonial partners’.
The chapters demonstrate the evolution of "Francophone Africa" into a multi-dimensional construct, with both a material and an imagined reality. Materially, it defines a regional territorial space that coexists with other conceptualisations of African space and borders. Conceptually, Francophone Africa constitutes a shared linguistic and cultural space within which collective memories are shared, not least through their connection to the French imperial imagination. Overall, the Handbook demonstrates that as global power structures and relations evolve, African agency is increasingly assertive in shaping French-African relations.
Bringing this important debate together into a single volume, this Handbook will be an essential resource for students and scholars interested in Francophone Africa.Introduction / Tony Chafer & Margaret A. Majumdar
Section 1. Colonial and post-colonial ties between France and sub-Saharan Africa
Colonialism and Decolonisation in French sub-Saharan Africa / Alexander Keese
Françafrique / Tony Chafer
The Durability of the "Gendarme de l'Afrique": from Empire to Fighting Terrorism / Bruno Charbonneau
Francophonie and Africa: Past, Present and Future Perspectives / Margaret A. Majumdar
France and Francophone Africa: An Enduring Financial and Economic Relationship faced with Uncertainty / Francois Gaulme
Colonial Medicine in French West Africa: Scientists for Empire from the origins to independence 1960 / Adama Aly Pam
French Schools in sub-Saharan Africa / Françoise Blum
Reconciling with the Past and Looking to the Future: The Place of the Tirailleurs Sénégalais in Post-Colonial Senegal / Ruth Ginio
Section 2. Belgium, Belgian colonialism and Africa
Belgian colonisation in Africa and decolonisation / Guy Vanthemsche
Facing ghosts: Lumumba Shadows / Fernanda Vilar
Guilty Imaginaries: rethinking language and ethnicity in post-colonial Rwanda and Burundi / Pierre Boizette
Section 3. The Maghreb
Language Policies in Algeria since 1962: Identity Renewal in the Light of Realpolitik Imperatives / Yassine Temlali
The Languages of Democracy in post 2011 Tunisia / Charis Boutieri
Maghrebi Francophonies: from the Colonial to the Postcolonial and Beyond / Zineb Ali Ben Ali
Section 4. Francophones in France
"A Great Gang of Black and Brown Humanity": The Lives and Politics of African Migrants in Twentieth Century France, from Vagabonds and Transients to Maritime Labourers and Intellectuals / Jennifer Boittin
Postcolonial Migration, Racism and Culture: France and North Africa / Jonathan Lewis
Cultural Pan-Africanism in Twentieth Century France / Rachel Gillett
"Our lives are political!" Afrofeminism in France or the fightback of the granddaughters of Empire / Silyane Larcher
The Road to 2005: How the Memory of Colonialism in France Became a Substitute for Race / Itay Lotem
Section 5. Francophone African Literature and Film
Colonial/ Postcolonial Francophonies in Sub-Saharan Africa: From Topicality to Universality / Saliou Dione
The problematic location of Reunionese literature within Francophone studies / Laetitia Saint-Loubert
How African languages free Francophone African cinema / Amadou Kone
Section 6. ‘Francophone’ and ‘Anglophone’ Africa
‘Francophones’ and ‘Anglophones’ in Cameroon: Official bilingualism, language competition and everyday practice /Gratien G. Atindogbe & Koumassol Midinette Endurence Dissake
A Postcolonial appraisal of Francophone/ Anglophone relations in Cameroon / Nkwenti Fru
The Commonwealth of Nations and ‘francophone’ Africa: bridging the colonial divides? / Melanie Torrent
Section 7. Beyond national boundaries and 'colonial partners'
Pan-Africanism in francophone West Africa: continuity vs rupture / Kalilou Sidibé
Francophone Africa beyond 'colonial partners': French-speaking countries' economic cooperation with China / Claude Sumata
From Regional Organisations to Coalition Interventions: Francophone Africa and contemporary security challenges / Malte Brosig & Bastien Nivet
Index