11th Halqa Study Days: "Facing (de)colonization: actors, struggles and approaches to the colonial fact in Muslim-majority areas".

These study days propose to discuss young research in progress, new sources, theoretical and empirical materials that contribute to the renewal of the (de)colonial question in Muslim-majority spaces in the social sciences. In retrospect, colonization, which in reality amalgamates various administrative systems (colonies, protectorates, mandates) and spaces, appears to be a process and a historical phenomenon structuring many societies in the SWANA region (Delamard, 2007). While it manifests itself in forms, spatialities and temporalities that are partly specific to the trajectory of each country, it is also based on common mechanisms, structures and logics, which bring together the notion of the "colonial fact" (Platania, 2011; Blais, Deprest, Singaravélou, 2011). This is understood here in a broad sense to include a political, legal and military system, hierarchical social organization and spatially-anchored power relationships that dictate, shape or guide the conduct of social actors. The colonial fact thus encompasses and traverses all the spaces over which it extends. It expresses itself as much in the (geo)political and economic fields as in the everyday sphere, the lived experience and the ordinary - so much so that decolonization cannot be reduced to the nationalist mobilizations emerging at the end of the 19th century, or to the proclamations of independence that marked the second half of the 20th century.

In light of the above, these 11th study days welcome papers around the (de)colonial fact and the issues raised by the field of "areal" studies. Halqa invites master's and doctoral students to contribute to a common reflection on these non-exhaustive questions:

Axis 1: The emergence of nationalisms in a colonial context, revolutionary movements and national independence struggles

Decolonial struggles have taken paths that are as common as they are singular according to given spaces and temporalities - the armed resistance led by Emir Abdelkader in Algeria or the Mahdist wars in Sudan, the diplomatic path taken by the Congress Party in India, the Bandung and Algiers conferences, and the committed thought of Abdelmalak Sayad, Jean-Paul Sartre and Edward Saïd. So, how did the actors who confronted colonization think and organize themselves, and what forms did the decolonial struggles they defended take? From Gandhi in India to Frantz Fanon in Algeria, what were the forms of political commitment and the voices raised against the colonial system in place? How did social, cultural, religious or artistic variables contribute to these mobilizations?

Axis 2: Reactivation of colonial pasts and new forms of domination

The dates usually chosen to mark the end of colonization and the beginning of a new political era do not represent frontiers at the threshold of which the colonial fact comes to an end (Singaravélou, 2023; Bancel, 2022). It takes place on a longer time scale: that of political structures, marked by remnants of colonial institutions and practices, revealing the weight of thepath dependence (Palier, 2010); that of the language imposed by the colonial administration and which survives its departure, with the power relations it crystallizes and the possibilities of subversion it conceals - or represses ; the new forms of colonialism that continue to bind the former colonial power to its former colony, be they economic, diplomatic, military or symbolic. Young nations that have become independent have also seen a significant proportion of their populations migrate to former metropolises; indeed, how does the issue of post-colonial immigration reactivate colonial pasts (Laurens, 2022; Hajjat, Mohammed, 2013)? Finally, the attachment of formerly colonized states to their colonial past must also be considered, whether this is illustrated through questions relating to language (debates around the status and place of French in North African and sub-Saharan countries bear witness to this), or in terms of economic, diplomatic or military policy, or symbolic power, between the desire to assert independence and consideration of remaining power relationships. In short, the colonial fact retains all its topicality; and it is through the prism of commitments against colonialism in its past and present modalities that this appeal proposes to approach it.

Axis 3: The links between knowledge production and power relations before and after decolonization: questioning the notion of "Orientalism" and research practices

The 1978 release of Edward Saïd's L'Orientalisme, considered the pioneering work of postcolonial studies, proposed a different approach to the colonial fact, hitherto viewed more from a political and military prism. Her work had the merit of formulating and denouncing the link between colonization, collective representations and cultural productions. Over time, the rise of postcolonial studies intersected with the constitution of other research fields and approaches, such as Cultural Studies, Subaltern Studies, but alsoWomen Studies and later Gender Studies, generating new perspectives. Borrowing the notion of deconstruction from "French Theory", these new approaches thus decompartmentalized Eurocentric conceptions of the "Oriental" Other.

However, Said and his followers have received criticism, not least for their systematization of the relationship between power and knowledge and the thesis of the Western fabrication of the Orient (Pouillon, 2011; Barthélémy, Cajasus, Volait, 2016). Because of their dual presence in the fields of politics and academic research, questions related to postcolonialism quickly gained political resonance (Bancel, 2016). Criticism then focused on the polarized interpretation of history and the rhetorical radicalism that was denounced as a sham (Sibeud, 2004). Despite their limitations, the work of the postcolonial school continues to irrigate current research and raise questions around (neo-)orientalist representations of the Other (Tuastad, 2003) and their effects on the dynamics of self-perception and self-representation (Schulze, 1987; Massad, 2007).

In this axis, we encourage contributions around the making of (de)colonial images, collective imaginaries and representations between ipsity and otherness. In dialogue with the questions raised inThe Jerusalem Manifesto (2020), the questioning will also focus on possible Eurocentric epistemological biases and power stakes that continue to run through field practices.

Method of participation

The call for papers is open to young researchers from all universities and institutions whatever their discipline (social sciences, art and literature, philosophy, Islamology...) or research field.

Paper proposals (in French or English) should include a title, a 300-350 word abstract, some bibliographical indications and a presentation of the candidates.

They should be sent before March 20, 2024 to the address: halqadesdoctorants@gmail.com.

The proposals will then be examined by the organizing committee, and responses will be given in early April. Halqa will cover any travel (up to 150 euros), catering and accommodation costs for successful speakers.

Organizing committee members

Samir Abdelli, EHESS, CETOBaC

Nada Amin, Lumière Lyon 2, IHRIM

Gehad Elgendy, Université de Bordeaux, Passages/CEDEJ

Noemi Linardi, Sorbonne Nouvelle, CERC

Linyao Ma, Sorbonne Université, CERMOM

Madyan Matar, Université Paris Cité, HTL

Sophia Mouttalib, ENS de Lyon, Triangle

Antonio Pacifico, Lyon 3 - University of Naples "L'Orientale"

Greta Sala, Inalco (CERMOM), University of Naples "L'Orientale"