27th Annual Student Research Conference
A Voice for the Silenced: A Feminist Examination of Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade
Adriana M. Long
Dr. Hena Ahmad, Faculty Mentor
According to Louis Tyson, feminist criticism is concerned with "...the ways in which literature reinforces or undermines the economic, political, social and psychological oppression of women". Assia Djebar's Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade serves as a 'voice' for women of all ages and backgrounds who are not able to speak for themselves, thus playing an important part in the feminist literary movement. In order to assess its value as a feminist work, this paper will: (1) Evaluate the role of women in the novel in relation to the definition of feminist criticism, (2) Examine how Djebar intertwines fiction with historical fact to create accurate representations of women during Algeria's French colonization, and (3) Analyze how Djebar successfully presents the reader with a pro-feminist message. All in all, this paper will demonstrate how Djebar has created a work that, although prose, successfully highlights the oppression and daily struggles of the female gender.
Keywords: Feminism, Literary Theory, Algeria, Assia Djebar, Fantasia: An Algerian Cavalcade, Criticism, History, Colonization
Topic(s):English
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 410-4
Location: VH 1320
Time: 3:15