New Books in African Studies

M’hamed Oualdi, "A Slave between Empires: A Transimperial History of North Africa" (Columbia UP, 2020)


Listen Later

In light of the profound physical and mental traumas of colonization endured by North Africans, historians of recent decades have primarily concentrated their studies of North Africa on colonial violence, domination, and shock. The choice is an understandable one. But in his new monograph, A Slave between Empires: A Transimperial History of North Africa (Columbia University Press, 2020), M’hamed Oualdi asks how a history of the modern Maghreb might look if we did not perceive it solely through the prism of European colonization, and argues that widening our gaze might force us to redefine our understanding of colonialism — and its limits.

As a sequel of sorts to his first book, Oualdi explores the life and afterlife of one figure, the manumitted slave and Tunisian dignitary Husayn Ibn ‘Abdallah, as an aperture through which to understand the financial, intellectual, and kinship networks that mingled with processes of colonialism and Ottoman governance in unexpected ways to produce the modern Maghreb.

A master class in how historians might untangle the relationship between the personal and the political, A Slave between Empires centers Husayn — and North Africa — at the crossroads of competing ambitions, imperial and intimate. Engaging with sources in Arabic, Ottoman Turkish, and European languages, and corralling French, Tunisian, and Anglophone historiographies into one conversation, Oualdi’s newest book is not to be missed.

M'hamed Oualdi is full professor at Sciences Po in Paris.

Nancy Ko is a Paul & Daisy Soros Fellow and a PhD student in History at Columbia University, where she examines the relationship between Jewish difference and (concepts of) philanthropy and property in the late- and post-Ottoman and Qajar Middle East. She can be reached at [[email protected]].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/african-studies

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

New Books in African StudiesBy Marshall Poe

  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4
  • 4.4

4.4

42 ratings


More shows like New Books in African Studies

View all
Focus on Africa by BBC World Service

Focus on Africa

370 Listeners

New Books in History by Marshall Poe

New Books in History

205 Listeners

New Books in Psychoanalysis by Marshall Poe

New Books in Psychoanalysis

193 Listeners

New Books in Military History by Marshall Poe

New Books in Military History

161 Listeners

New Books in African American Studies by New Books Network

New Books in African American Studies

161 Listeners

New Books in Anthropology by New Books Network

New Books in Anthropology

49 Listeners

New Books in Environmental Studies by Marshall Poe

New Books in Environmental Studies

23 Listeners

New Books in Philosophy by New Books Network

New Books in Philosophy

109 Listeners

New Books in Religion by New Books Network

New Books in Religion

28 Listeners

New Books in Native American Studies by Marshall Poe

New Books in Native American Studies

103 Listeners

The China in Africa Podcast by The China-Global South Project

The China in Africa Podcast

205 Listeners

The LRB Podcast by The London Review of Books

The LRB Podcast

293 Listeners

New Books in Critical Theory by Marshall Poe

New Books in Critical Theory

142 Listeners

New Books in Intellectual History by New Books Network

New Books in Intellectual History

61 Listeners

Jacobin Radio by Jacobin

Jacobin Radio

1,431 Listeners

The Dig by Daniel Denvir

The Dig

1,545 Listeners

Rev Left Radio by Revolutionary Left Radio

Rev Left Radio

3,273 Listeners

Into Africa by CSIS  |  Center for Strategic and International Studies

Into Africa

142 Listeners

The Horn by International Crisis Group

The Horn

62 Listeners

The Red Line by The Red Line

The Red Line

359 Listeners

Novara Live by Novara Media

Novara Live

51 Listeners

Africa Daily by BBC World Service

Africa Daily

170 Listeners

On the Nose by Jewish Currents

On the Nose

228 Listeners

Ones and Tooze by Foreign  Policy

Ones and Tooze

334 Listeners

Empire by Goalhanger

Empire

2,200 Listeners