Frantz Fanon

Peter Hudis

Description

Frantz Fanon (1925-1961) was a Caribbean and African psychiatrist, philosopher and revolutionary whose works, including Black Skin, White Masks and The Wretched of the Earth are hugely influential in the fields of post-colonial studies, critical theory, and post-Marxism. His legacy remains with us today, having inspired movements in Palestine, Sri Lanka, the US and South Africa.



This is a critical biography of his extraordinary life. Peter Hudis draws on the expanse of his life and work - from his upbringing in Martinique and early intellectual influences to his mature efforts to fuse psychoanalysis and philosophy and contributions to the anti-colonial struggle in Algeria - to counter the monolithic assumption that Fanon's contribution to modern thought is defined by the advocacy of violence.



He was a political activist who brought his interests in psychology and philosophy directly to bear on such issues as mutual recognition, democratic participation and political sovereignty. Hudis shows that, as a result, Fanon emerges as neither armchair intellectual nor intransigent militant.
Acknowledgements

Introduction: Fanon in Our Time

1. The Path to Political and Philosophical Commitment

2. Self and Other: The Dialectic of Black Skin, White Masks

3. The Engaged Psychiatrist: Blida and the Psychodynamics of Racism

4. The Engaged Philosopher: The FLN and the Algerian Revolution

5. The Strategist of Revolution: Africa at the Crossroads

6. Toward a New Humanity: The Wretched of the Earth

Notes

Index

Sujets

• Ethnic Studies
• Political Ideologies
• Movements
• 20th Century
• Political
• Modern
• Historical
• HISTORY
• POLITICAL SCIENCE
• Lettres et linguistique
• Martinica
• Communism
• Biography
• French West India Company
• Marxist humanism
• African philosophy
• Modern history
• National Liberation Front (Algeria)
• General officer
• Military
• Psychoanalysis
• Politics
• Martinique
• General
• Autobiography
• Communisme
• Obermodern-Zutzendorf
• Discrimination

Informations

• Publié par: Pluto Press
• Date de parution: 20 août 2015
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781783716845
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 3 Mo

Extrait

Frantz Fanon

Revolutionary Lives

Serîes Edîtors: Sarah Irvîng, Unîversîty o Edînburgh; Proessor Pau Le Banc, La Roche Coege, Pîttsburgh

Revolutionary Lives îs a serîes o short, crîtîca bîographîes o radîca figures rom throughout hîstory. The books are sympathetîc but not sycophantîc, and the întentîon îs to present a baanced and, where necessary, crîtîca evauatîon o the îndîvîdua’s pace în theîr poîtîca fied, puttîng theîr actîons and achîevements în context and exporîng îssues raîsed by theîr îves, such as the use or rejectîon o vîoence, natîonaîsm, or gender în poîtîca actîvîsm. Whîe îndîvîduas are the subject o the books, theîr persona îves are deat wîth îghty except însoar as they mesh wîth poîtîca concerns. The ocus îs on the contrîbutîon these revoutîonarîes made to hîstory, an examînatîon o how ar they achîeved theîr aîms în împrovîng the îves o the oppressed and expoîted, and how they can contînue to be an înspîratîon or many today.

Aso avaîabe:

Salvador Allende: Revolutionary Democrat Vîctor Fîgueroa Cark

Hugo Chávez: Socialist or the Twenty-first Century Mîke Gonzaez

Leila Khaled: Icon o Palestinian Liberation Sarah Irvîng

Jean Paul Marat: Tribune o the French Revolution Cîford D. Conner

www.revoutîonaryîves.co.uk

Sylvia Pankhurst: Sufragette, Socialist and Scourge o Empire Katherîne Conney

Ellen Wilkinson: From Red Sufragist to Government Minister Paua Bartey

Gerrard Winstanley: The Digger’s Lie and Legacy John Gurney

Frantz Fanon Phîosopher o the Barrîcades

Peter Hudîs

Fîrst pubîshed 2015 by Puto Press 345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA

www.putobooks.com

Copyrîght © Peter Hudîs 2015

The rîght o Peter Hudîs to be îdentîfied as the author o thîs work has been asserted by hîm în accordance wîth the Copyrîght, Desîgns and Patents Act 1988.

Brîtîsh Lîbrary Cataoguîng în Pubîcatîon Data A cataogue record or thîs book îs avaîabe rom the Brîtîsh Lîbrary

ISBN ISBN ISBN ISBN ISBN

978 0 7453 3630 5 978 0 7453 3625 1 978 1 7837 1684 5 978 1 7837 1686 9 978 1 7837 1685 2

Hardback Paperback PDF eBook Kînde eBook EPUB eBook

Thîs book îs prînted on paper suîtabe or recycîng and made rom uy managed and sustaîned orest sources. Loggîng, pupîng and manuacturîng processes are expected to conorm to the envîronmenta standards o the country o orîgîn.

Typeset by Stanord DTP Servîces, Northampton, Engand Text desîgn by Meanîe Patrîck Sîmutaneousy prînted by CPI Antony Rowe, Chîppenham, UK and Edwards Bros în the Unîted States o Amerîca

Acknowledgements

Contents

Introductîon: Fanon în Our Tîme 1. The Path to Poîtîca and Phîosophîca Commîtment 2. Se and Other: The Dîaectîc oBlack Skin, White Masks 3. The Engaged Psychîatrîst: Bîda and the Psychodynamîcs o Racîsm 4. The Engaged Phîosopher: The FLN and the Agerîan Revoutîon 5. The Strategîst o Revoutîon: Arîca at the Crossroads 6. Toward a New Humanîty:The Wretched o the Earth

Notes Index

vî

1 12 28

55

69 92 111

140 154

Acknowledgements

I woud îke to thank Pau Le Banc and Davîd Caste o Puto Press or theîr assîstance and encouragement through a stages o creatîng thîs work. Athough my înteectua ainîtîes and înfluences wî be evîdent rom the content o thîs book, no figure ooms arger în shapîng the îdeas that gave bîrth to ît than Raya Dunayevskaya (1910–87), who first aerted me to the power o Fanon’s revoutîonary humanîsm— and who, above a ese, taught me how tothink.

Introduction: Fanon in Our Tim

e

îty years ater the orma end o European coonîaîsm, and the F specter o Frantz Fanon has returned—wîth a vengeance. Largey amost a decade ater the Unîted States hadseemedto some to turn the corner on racîsm by eectîng îts first back presîdent, consîgned to academîc studîes and debates over postcoonîaîsm, dîference and aterîty or many years, Fanon’s name suddeny went vîra în December 2014. Wîthîn days o a New York Cîty grand jury’s decîsîon not to îndîct the poîce oicers who had stranged to death Erîc Garner, an unarmed back man who was tryîng to se a ew cîgarettes, a comment by Fanon appeared on numerous socîa medîa sîtes that was quîcky pîcked up and quoted around the country—and în many parts o the word. It read: “When we revot ît’s not or a partîcuar cuture. We revot sîmpy because, or many reasons, we 1 can no onger breathe.” The statement seemed to capture the paîn and poîgnancy o the moment, as tens o thousands o peope poured înto the streets—oten spontaneousy—to protest the înjustîce done to Garner as we as to Mîchae Brown, an 18-year-od back youth rom Ferguson, Mîssourî who was murdered by a poîceman that a grand jury îkewîse chose not to îndîct a ew weeks earîer. Actuay, ît turns out that the quotatîon rom Fanon was somewhat truncated. The actua statement, made înThe Wretched o the Earth, reads: “It îs not because the Indo-Chînese dîscovered a cuture o theîr own that they revoted. Quîte sîmpy thîs was because ît became 2 împossîbe to breathe, în more than one sense o the word.” Stî, the act that Fanon’s words were quoted a bît out o context—a probem that has arîsen repeatedy sînce hîs death în 1961—îs ess împortant than the act that hîs îdeas are seen by many to speak to the urgency o the moment. That the moment we are îvîng through îs urgent îs cear—and most o a to backs and Latînos în the U.S., as we as îmmîgrants rom Arîca, Asîa, and the Mîdde East acîng heîghtened

1

Frantz Fanon

poîce abuse and racîa and reîgîous dîscrîmînatîon throughout Europe. Tîme seems to be marchîng backward în many respects, as xenophobîc—as we as subter but no ess însîdîous—orms o racîsm seem to define the very shape o gobaîzed capîtaîsm în the twenty-first century. Whatever was meant by the “promîse,” voîced oowîng the coapse o statîst communîsm în Eastern Europe and Russîa în 1991, that a “new word order” was now beore us based on prîncîpes o îbera democracy, ît certaîny has not brought us to a word any ess “overdetermîned” by racîa profiîng, racîa prejudîce, and racîa înjustîce. Tîme seems to be marchîng backward îndeed . . . but the questîon îs, to what? To the kînd o word that Fanon saw and crîtîcîzed? To somethîng even more barbarîc? Or does the response by a new generatîon o actîvîsts and thînkers to what has apty been termed “the new Jîm Crow” în the Unîted States oreshadow an efort to put a thîs asîde, and recaîm what exîstîng socîety repeatedy denîes, especîay to peope o coor—ourhumanity? The chaenges acîng any efort to orge a revoutîonary new begînnîng today are surey enormous. No sooner do new voîces arîse agaînst the dehumanîzatîon that defines contemporary capîtaîsm than they rîsk beîng subsumed by reîgîous undamentaîst terrorîsm and the reactîonary response to ît by the Western powers. Vîoent attacks on journaîsts, emînîsts, Jews and others în the name o some mythîca încarnatîon o “Isam,” whether ît occurs în France, Syrîa or anywhere ese, testîfies to how dîvorced today’s apostes o mîndess vîoence are rom any îberatory împuse. The Isamîc undamenta- îsts who murder cîvîîans în France have the same aîm as Chrîstîan undamentaîsts who do the same în Norway or the U.S.—they wîsh to push hîstory backward by provokîngpermanent înter-reîgîous warare (the same o course appîes to Jewîsh undamentaîsts în theîr attacks on Paestînîans). No ess mîndess îs the response o the Western powers—not ony because o theîr persîstent dîscrîmînatîon agaînst îmmîgrants, Musîms, and peope o coor but aso because theîr response to reîgîous-înspîred terrorîsm îs characterîzed by such a huge degree odisassociation. One woud never know rom îstenîng to the pundîts decryîng the “cash o cîvîîzatîons” that France murdered over a mîîon Musîms în Agerîa în the 1950s and

2

Introduction: Fanon in Our Time

eary 1960s or that more recenty the U.S. kîed ha a mîîon în îts mîsguîded wars în Iraq and Aghanîstan. Vîoence îs aways to be condemned—except when “we” engage în ît, even when done on a massîve and systematîc scae and în compete dîsregard o human rîghts and înternatîona aw. Today’s voîces o opposîtîon are beîng contînuousy subsumed by state-sanctîoned terror on one sîde and reîgîous-mîsogynîst terror on the other. Is there no way out o thîs cu-de-sac, whîch works so we or maîntaînîng bourgeoîs socîa and îdeoogîca hegemony? Wî ît ever become possîbe to break through these mînd-orged manaces by makîng the quest or a decent, îvîng, humanword a reaîty? Whatever turns out to be the answer to thîs questîon, one thîng îs cear: Frantz Fanon was one o the oremost thînkers o the twentîeth century because o hîs persîstent efort to brîng to the surace the quest or a new humanîty în the socîa strugges ohisThose tîme. strugges are ong behînd us now, and burîed or the most part under a heap o dîsappoîntments and aîures. So much îs thîs the case that ît îs oten hard to remember the promîse o the antî-coonîa movements o the 1950s and 1960s, how much they reordered word poîtîcs, and how many aspîratîons rom common peope they gave expressîon to. I or no other reason, Fanon’s work îs împortant în removîng thîs ayer o mnemonîc debrîs et by over 50 years o aborted and unfinîshed revoutîons. We have more to recover, o course, than the past. It îs the uture that îs most în jeopardy today, precîsey because the efort to artîcuate the emergence o a new humanîty rom wîthîn the she o od has so oten aen short. So can Fanon hep reînvîgorate the efort to deveop a îberatîng aternatîve to the present moment? Thîs îs argey the questîon to whîch thîs study îs dîrected. But we can ony pursue ît î we are first o a attentîve to who Fanon was and where he was comîng rom înhismoment.

Race and Society

Fanon made ît very cear, rom the onset o hîs înteectua career, 3 thatHe resîsted any pretense“I’m not the bearer o absoute truths.” that the theoretîcîan can hover over the word and gîve an objectîve

3