IMPERIAL FRAGMENTS AND TRANSNATIONAL ACTIVISM: 1968(s) IN TUNISIA, FRANCE, AND SENEGAL A dissertation presented by Burleigh Hendrickson to The Department of History In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the field of History Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts December 2013 Dissertation directed by Laura L. Frader Professor of History 1 IMPERIAL FRAGMENTS AND TRANSNATIONAL ACTIVISM: 1968(s) IN TUNISIA, FRANCE, AND SENEGAL by Burleigh Hendrickson ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History in the College of Social Sciences & Humanities of Northeastern University December 2013 2 Abstract of Dissertation This dissertation explores the global protests of 1968 by examining three university cities—Tunis, Paris, and Dakar—that became sites of transnational activism after the collapse of the French empire. Newly independent African states in the post-1945 era invested heavily in education in hopes that indigenous talent would eventually replace European technocrats to carry out large-scale modernization projects. Rapidly growing populations of educated youth emerged at home institutions in the ex-colonies in the 1960s and maintained contact with activist circles living in the metropole. The dissertation answers the call to "provincialize Europe" by placing France's mai 68 in a global context with other related "1968s" in West and North Africa, and challenging its culturally and historiographically dominant position. I take the former French empire as a unit of anaylsis to trace transnational communication between activists in the metropole and the former colonies while also considering the context of each university to highlight the local characteristics of each movement. My innovative transnational and comparative approach reveals that imperial fragments like the French university system shaped postcolonial protest in newly independent African nations and linked activists across Europe, Africa, and the Mediterranean. Using global protest to demonstrate the enduring links between France and its former colonies at the end of formal empire, I argue that intellectual migration from the colonies to the metropole—established during the colonial period—laid the foundations for transnational networks of activism in the protests that swept the globe in 1968. The dissertation transcends event-centered histories of 1968 by comparing the different trajectories Tunisian, French, and Senegalese activism in the 1970s. It combines original research gathered from interviews with former activists, previously inaccessible personal archives of protestors, and data from more than a dozen archive centers in 3 each of the three countries of study. I conclude that certain connections between France and its former colonies actually intensified after the fall of the empire in response to the protest movements of 1968. My research reveals that, as Tunisia and Senegal transformed nationalist independence movements into autocratic single-party states, Paris became the site from which oppositional organizations were launched, and intellectuals often returned to home institutions in the former colonies to participate in political activism. While 1968 protests at universities in Tunis, Paris, and Dakar were linked through transnational activist networks and student organizations, student movements in each site were marked by certain local particularities. State repression in each case varied depending on student demographics and availability of opportunities for recruitment of elites, often into government positions. In response to state repression, activist organizations in Tunisia went transnational, operating with relative freedom from Paris, though never incorporating large sectors of the Tunisian population beyond university campuses. Activists’ concerns transformed from anti-imperialist causes like Vietnamese independence and Palestinian statehood to basic human rights and penal reform. Facing comparatively less repression, the Senegalese movement spread beyond the university campuses on the national level, yet did not witness a proliferation of transnational organizations as in the case of Tunisia. I argue that, as laboratories of modernization, universities were critical symbols for nations to measure their success, especially in the case of newly independent states. By 1968, the university had become a site of conflict between activist youth and the state over the future of the nation, and networks of support for protest movements often circulated through the former metropole. Ultimately, I conclude that the transnational connections of the former empire fundamentally impacted the nature of protestors' claims in 1968, but that these claims transformed in the 1970s due to 4 varying degrees of state repression, cooperation between student and worker movements, and local economic conditions. 5 DEDICATION For Addie & Gracie 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The ideas on the pages that follow would not have been possible without the input and guidance of several individuals. Laura Frader has been a fantastic advisor and mentor. Her uncanny ability to strike the delicate balance between high standards of excellence and nurturing encouragement helped me to push forward when necessary and to know when to revisit material. I always felt I was in good hands with Laura steering the ship, navigating the sometimes choppy waters of grant and university administration, and willingly sharing her extensive historiographic knowledge to strengthen my arguments. Her expertise, generosity, and tireless work ethic have provided me with a scholarly role model I can only strive to emulate. In addition to quenching my thirst for 1960s culture and radical politics, Tim Brown helped me to write more clearly and to locate the heart of any research question. His support early in my graduate endeavors gave me the confidence to keep trying and to maintain a healthy perspective regarding history and the profession. And of course, without his deep knowledge of punk culture I would never have discovered the thrashing notes and lyrical prowess of MC5. Kate Luongo exposed me to postcolonial theory and piqued my interest in African history and anthropology. Her text selection is unequaled, and I will forever remember the rich enigmas of the story of Médard and the power encapsulated in the sauces of Songhay cooking. To this day, whenever I am feeling down about the state of academia or an impending deadline, I often glance at old written work from her courses, always looking for that positive comment, the beautifully penned purple ink radiating off the margins. I must also acknowledge Harlow Robinson, who shared with me the value of Central and Eastern European art, architecture, literature and film. He showed me how to be a true colleague, to productively interact with students, and to roll with the punches when studying abroad. Bob 7 Hall, in my eyes a pillar of integrity in a world where that can seem scarce, was extremely generous with his time and intellectual curiousity in guiding me in an independent study that circuitously led to my eventual research topic. I will greatly miss talking shop with him about Fanon, the South, ACC sports, and any number of issues on which this Renaissance man can provide authoritative commentary. Tom Havens has graciously given his time and insights on academic life, always looking out for Northeastern students. Thanks to Uta Poiger for encouraging me to apply to a fellowship I eventually received. I am also appreciative of the new energy injected by recent additions to the history department. Louise Walker, Chris Parsons, and Philip Thai have been particularly helpful and encouraging in the later stages of this journey. I further benefitted from lovely conversations with Nancy Borromey, Jenn Mocarski, Bonne Knipfer, and Kirsten Bilas, who brought sanity and light to the office, and I will particularly miss Bonne’s lovely French accent. I owe so much to my graduate colleagues, in particular those who welcomed me into the department or joined me in our dissertation writing group: Rachel Gillett, Stephanie Boyle, Samantha Christiansen, Zach Scarlett, Yan Li, James Bradford, Malcolm Purinton, Seneca Joyner, Stacy Fahrenthold, Colin Sargeant, Ross Newton, Andrew Jarboe, Ethan Hawkley, and many others. Special thanks to Chris Gilmartin for lighting a fire under us and for bringing kindness and humanity into scholarly endeavors. I wish to acknowledge the generous support of the U.S. Department of Education's Fulbright-Hays program, the Social Science Research Council, the Council for European Studies, and the Andrew W. Mellon foundation, without which this project would not have been possible. These funds allowed me to travel, research, learn new cultures and histories, to think, to write, and to meet a number of amazing people on the way. I would also like to thank SSRC colleagues who gave me fruitful suggestions to sharpen my focus, especially Daniela Sarnoff, Jaime 8 Pensado, Sarah Fraser, Steven Samford, Faiz Ahmed, Pablo Palomino, Carmen Soliz, Marian Schlotterbeck, and an extra special thanks to Ram Natarajan for invaluable feedback on chapter drafts. Beyond the SSRC, Daniel Gordon, Michaël Béchir Ayari, Julia Clancy-Smith, and Sara Pursley also helped clarify my thoughts on immigrant activism and pointed me to additional sources. In Tunisia I would not have survived the revolution without the gracious hospitality of the Menchaoui