{"product_id":"in-defense-of-barbarism-non-whites-against-the-empire-9781804294420","title":"In Defense of Barbarism: Non-Whites Against the Empire","description":"\u003cb\u003eA provocative, beautiful and defiant essay highlighting the pitfalls of integration in France by a talented young writer with North African roots\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIs social integration all it's cracked up to be? Not in the defiant view of first-time French author Louisa Yousfi, who herself has North African roots. Taking its inspiration from the leading Algerian writer Kateb Yacine\u003cbr\u003e('I'm better off not being too cultivated. I have to retain a certain barbarianism'), this provocative essay explores ways of resisting the cultural and moral hegemony of the French \"Empire.\" \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eCiting a wide range of cultural references, from the characters of Chester Himes and Toni Morrison to the in-your-face rap lyrics of the 'street prophets' Booba and PNL, she extolls the virtues of her inner barbarian and champions those brave souls who refuse to be 'domesticated'. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eChallenging the conventional wisdom that posits integration as an unalloyed good, she shows how assimilation can equate to the loss of traditions, religion, language, and culture. And, whether discussing 9\/11, the Algerian colonial era, the media treatment of celebrities of Arab origin, or the second-class status of French citizens from an immigrant background, she holds an uncompromising mirror up to the West and its moral shortcomings, as if to say: a barbarian I may be, but who is the real monster? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eYousfi, a young, charismatic and dynamic author who uses a refreshingly wide range of cultural reference points, including rap music, to construct her argument, opens up the path of a decolonial cultural politics and an aesthetics of resistance.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-17035442\"\u003eLouisa Yousfi\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Verso\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/21\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 112\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.20lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 4.90w x 0.30d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781804294420\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 180429442X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-SOC\"\u003eSocial Science\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-SOC070000\"\u003eRace \u0026amp; Ethnic Relations\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-SOC\"\u003eSocial Science\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-SOC026040\"\u003eSociology | Social Theory\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-HIS\"\u003eHistory\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-HIS013000\"\u003eEurope | France\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe journalist\u003cb\u003e Louisa Yousfi \u003c\/b\u003egrew up in south-eastern France in the 1990s. She took a literature course at a crammer in Lille and then studied philosophy in Nice, ultimately enrolling in journalism school in Bordeaux. She was a conscientious student, following the advice of her working-class parents, who had emigrated from Algeria to France, to 'focus on [her] studies first and worry about politics later'. This political engagement duly materialised when she joined the Parti des Indigènes de la République, an anti-racist and decolonial movement whose ideas had a decisive influence on her first published work, \u003ci\u003eRester barbare\u003c\/i\u003e. She is currently working on her first novel.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Verso","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48457685926125,"sku":"9781804294420","price":17.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/files\/img_bd72491c-fb55-4ee1-bf04-87a8d6679261.jpg?v=1753586366","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/in-defense-of-barbarism-non-whites-against-the-empire-9781804294420","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}