AUC STUDIA TERRITORIALIA
AUC STUDIA TERRITORIALIA

AUC Studia Territorialia (Acta Universitatis Carolinae Studia Territorialia) is a peer-reviewed academic journal focusing on Area Studies. It covers political, economic, social, and cultural affairs of North America, Europe, and post-Soviet Eurasia in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The journal was founded in 2001; currently, it appears biannually, both electronically and in print. It publishes original scholarly articles, book reviews, conference reports and research notes. The journal is a publication of the Institute of International Studies at Charles University’s Faculty of Social Sciences.

AUC STUDIA TERRITORIALIA, Vol 21 No 2 (2021), 11–33

Contested Memories in Contemporary France and Their Reflection in Rap Music

Alexandra Preitschopf

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/23363231.2022.2
published online: 28. 02. 2022

abstract

France’s colonial past and its aftermath remain an “open wound” to this day. After a long period of silence, painful issues such as the role of France in the transatlantic slave trade, colonial crimes in Africa, and the Algerian War have more and more become part of public consciousness in France. Interestingly, many French rap musicians who are the children or grandchildren of immigrants from former French colonies frequently use their songs to remind France of its colonial past. However, their messages sometimes compete with remembrance of the Holocaust. The singers’ condemnation of French colonialism becomes wrapped up in the Middle East conflict and Israel is portrayed as a new “colonial power.” By analyzing selected lyrics of recent French rap songs this article aims to explore the complex and sensitive intersection of post-colonial and Middle East politics and set the lyrics in the broader socio-political context of remembrance culture in France. The article argues that the musicians’ approaches to France’s troubled past are an important form of self-affirmation for their communities in the postcolonial context. By bringing up previously silenced topics, they contribute to a more diverse remembrance culture and contest narratives that have been predominant for a long time.

keywords: France; rap music; remembrance; colonialism; Algerian War; Middle East conflict

Creative Commons License
Contested Memories in Contemporary France and Their Reflection in Rap Music is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

148 x 210 mm
periodicity: 2 x per year
print price: 180 czk
ISSN: 1213-4449
E-ISSN: 2336-3231

Download