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UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Crises of Postmemory UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Crises of Postmemory: Deferred Postmemory in Second-Generation Novels after the Algerian War A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in French and Francophone Studies by Anneka Wylie Haddix 2016 © Copyright by Anneka Wylie Haddix 2016 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Crises of Postmemory: Deferred Postmemory in Second-Generation Novels after the Algerian War by Anneka Wylie Haddix Doctor of Philosophy in French and Francophone Studies University of California, Los Angeles, 2016 Professor Lia N. Brozgal, Chair “Crises of Postmemory: Deferred Postmemory in Second-Generation Novels after the Algerian War” examines the role of literature at the intersection of trauma, memory, transmission in the context of Franco-Algerian history. Expanding Marianne Hirsch’s concept of postmemory investigates the relationship between the generation that lives through a traumatic event and the extent to which their traumatic memories can be inherited by the next generation. This theory is based on intergenerational communication and transmission, which often occur to such a great extent that the experiences of the second generation can appear to be dominated by the ‘memories’ inherited from the first generation. This dissertation expands on the idea of postmemory in the context of the Algerian War for independence and its afterlives in France. In this case, the second generation is often met with silence and avoidance from the first generation. Rather than being inundated with others’ memories as Hirsch described, these descendants must ii actively seek out the past on their own, often without the intervention of the first generation. Although delay can be inferred from the name “postmemory” the experiences explored in this project are further removed from the original trauma of the first generation and therefore represent what I term deferred postmemory. The six historically based francophone fictional texts studied in this project are constructed on the collective trauma experienced and retained by the first generation; a trauma, which although unexpressed, marked the second generation through its both internal and external censorship. Moving farther away traditional postmemory with each chapter, this project analyzes how the second-generation uses diverse scaffolds to gain access to the unshared traumatic past of the first generation. Each chapter presents a couplet of texts that engage with the same historical moment or depict the same method for discovering different traumatic pasts. Through testimonial experiences, retracing the first generation’s movements to historically significant locations, and finally visiting and creating archives, the second-generation characters depicted in each text are better able comprehend the first-generation’s traumatic past and its impact on future generations. iii The dissertation of Anneka Wylie Haddix is approved. Dominic R. Thomas Laure Murat Nouri Gana Lia N. Brozgal, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2016 iv For my family v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract…………………………………………………………………………. ii Acknowledgements………………………………….………………………….. vii Vita………………………………….………………………………….………... ix Introduction Crises of Postmemory………………………………….………………………… 1 Chapter One: Postmemory and Paraliterature: Coincidences and Correspondences in Entendez-vous dans les montagnes and L’ancienne demeure turque…………… 35 Chapter Two: Mobile Memories: The Past Retraced in La Seine était rouge and Le village de l’Allemand, ou le journal des frères Schiller…………………………………. 83 Chapter Three: “Writing Wrongs”: Redeploying History in Mohand le harki and Meurtres pour mémoire………………………………….………………………………… 128 Postlude Deferred postmemory at the crossroads of science and literature………………. 183 Works Cited………………………………….…………………………………. 191 vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This project and the original research conducted to complete it would not be possible without the generous support of the UCLA Department of French and Francophone Studies, the UCLA Graduate Division and the Borchard Foundation Fellowship. Beyond financial support, the UCLA Department of French and Francophone Studies has supported me intellectually for my six years as a graduate student. I am deeply grateful for the insights and encouragement from the members of my committee, each of whom has served as a mentor and a model of scholarship. I thank Nouri Gana and Laure Murat for their flexibility and guidance. I am grateful for Dominic Thomas’s positive encouragement and for expanding my understanding of Francophone studies. This project would not be what it is without the unwavering support of my committee chair, Lia Brozgal. From the earliest stages of this project, she has mentored me and pushed me to think more critically. Her generosity with her time, insightful commentary and mentorship has molded me into the scholar I have become. I am also thankful to Caroline Ford of the UCLA Department of History, whose courses I took as an undergraduate. Her enthusiasm for French and Francophone history and culture inspired my own. Additionally, the staff of Royce 212, and especially Kerry Allen, have been absolutely essential to my success. The support systems and friendships I have cultivated in Los Angeles and abroad have carried me through this project. My colleagues, past and present, have served as a sounding board for nascent ideas, been my teaching buddies, and have constantly inspired me throughout this process. I owe my thanks to both of my writing groups, and particularly to Lauren Van Arsdall, Kate Schlosser, Nanar Khamo, Adelaide Kuehn, Veronica Dean and Anne Mueller for vii their questions and critiques as I completed my studies and developed my project. Their friendships and support have meant so much to me. For their immeasurable support, unconditional love and ceaseless patience, I thank my family. My parents, Keven and Brian Haddix, have always encouraged me to follow my passions and continue exploring. I thank my sister, Keelin, for her understanding and for lending her ear and advice during many a panicked phone call. After six years in Los Angeles, my family has grown. I’m thinking of Kate Willis, Catalina Oaida and Anne Mueller who have accompanied me on this scholastic journey and supported and encouraged me in ways I cannot express. From girls’ dinners to adventures around California, these three friends and the memories we’ve made have shaped me into the woman I have become. It has been such a comfort to go through this stage of life with my colleague turned roommate turned best friend, Anne. Finally, I would like to thank John Paul Perry for being my partner and my sanctuary throughout this process and for reminding me what is important. viii VITA 2008 B.A., French and Francophone Studies University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 2009 Licence ès Lettres Modernes Université Lumière, Lyon II Lyon, France 2011 Graduate Summer Research Mentorship Graduate Division University of California, Los Angeles 2011-2012 Teaching Assistant Department of French and Francophone Studies University of California, Los Angeles 2012 Graduate Summer Research Mentorship Graduate Division University of California, Los Angeles 2012-2016 Teaching Associate Department of French and Francophone Studies University of California, Los Angeles 2014-2015 Borchard Foundation Fellowship Department of French and Francophone Studies University of California, Los Angeles PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS Haddix, Anneka. (March 2012). “Une nuit d’octobre, une nuit oubliée: Postmemory and the Search for Truth in Mehdi Lallaoui’s Une nuit d’octobre.” Paper presented at the Graduate Association of French and Italian Students Symposium, University of Wisconsin, Madison. ---. (November 2014). “’Writing Wrongs’: A Literary Interpretation of Testimony in Hadjila Kemoum’s Mohand le harki.” Paper presented at the Society for Francophone Postcolonial Studies: Annual Conference at the Institute of Modern Languages Research, University of London. ---. (February 2015). “Speaking from the Grave: Deadly Echoes in Le Village de l’Allemand ou le journal des frères Schiller.” Paper presented at the 20th and 21st Century French and Francophone International Colloquium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. ix ---. (September 2015). “Speaking from the Grave: Deadly Echoes in Le Village de l’Allemand ou le journal des frères Schiller.” Paper accepted for publication in Contemporary French & Francophone Studies: Sites 20.4. ---. (November 2015). “Retracing the Past in Le Village de l’Allemand, ou le journal des frères Schiller.” Paper presented at the Society for Francophone Postcolonial Studies: Annual Conference at the Institute of Modern Languages Research, University of London. Haddix, Anneka, Anne Mueller and Adelaide Kuehn. “Introduction.” Paroles Gelées 29, no. 1 (2015): 1-2. Haddix, Anneka. (March 2016). “Paraliterature and the Power of Connections in Andrée Montero’s L’ancienne demeure turque.” Paper presented at the 20th and 21st Century French and Francophone International Colloquium, Saint Louis, Missouri. x INTRODUCTION Crises of Postmemory This project is animated by the overarching question of how postmemory operates in cultural productions that engage with experiences of historical trauma outside of the Holocaust. More precisely, how can it be used to understand the trauma of war and decolonization in Algeria? Unlike the experience of the Holocaust, which is recognized by French law, it was not until 1999 that the conflict
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