A Semite

A Memoir of Algeria

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Biography & Memoir
Cover of the book A Semite by Denis Guenoun, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Denis Guenoun ISBN: 9780231537247
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: May 6, 2014
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Denis Guenoun
ISBN: 9780231537247
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: May 6, 2014
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

In this vivid memoir, Denis Guénoun excavates his family's past and progressively fills out a portrait of an imposing, enigmatic father. René Guénoun was a teacher and a pioneer, and his secret support for Algerian independence was just one of the many things he did not discuss with his teenaged son. To be Algerian, pro-independence, a French citizen, a Jew, and a Communist were not, to René's mind, dissonant allegiances. He believed Jews and Arabs were bound by an authentic fraternity and could only realize a free future together.

René Guénoun called himself a Semite, a word that he felt united Jewish and Arab worlds and best reflected a shared origin. He also believed that Algerians had the same political rights as Frenchmen. Although his Jewish family was rooted in Algeria, he inherited French citizenship and revered the principles of the French Revolution. He taught science in a French lycée in Oran and belonged to the French Communist Party. His steadfast belief in liberty, equality, and fraternity led him into trouble, including prison and exile, yet his failures as an activist never shook his faith in a rational, generous future.

René Guénoun was drafted to defend Vichy France's colonies in the Middle East during World War II. At the same time, Vichy barred him and his wife from teaching because they were Jewish. When the British conquered Syria, he was sent home to Oran, and in 1943, after the Allies captured Algeria, he joined the Free French Army and fought in Europe. After the war, both parents did their best to reconcile militant unionism and clandestine party activity with the demands of work and family. The Guénouns had little interest in Israel and considered themselves at home in Algeria; yet because he supported Algerian independence, René Guénoun outraged his French neighbors and was expelled from Algeria by the French paramilitary Organisation Armée Secrète. He spent his final years in Marseille. Gracefully weaving together youthful memories with research into his father's life and times, Denis Guénoun re-creates an Algerian past that proved lovely, intellectually provocative, and dangerous.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In this vivid memoir, Denis Guénoun excavates his family's past and progressively fills out a portrait of an imposing, enigmatic father. René Guénoun was a teacher and a pioneer, and his secret support for Algerian independence was just one of the many things he did not discuss with his teenaged son. To be Algerian, pro-independence, a French citizen, a Jew, and a Communist were not, to René's mind, dissonant allegiances. He believed Jews and Arabs were bound by an authentic fraternity and could only realize a free future together.

René Guénoun called himself a Semite, a word that he felt united Jewish and Arab worlds and best reflected a shared origin. He also believed that Algerians had the same political rights as Frenchmen. Although his Jewish family was rooted in Algeria, he inherited French citizenship and revered the principles of the French Revolution. He taught science in a French lycée in Oran and belonged to the French Communist Party. His steadfast belief in liberty, equality, and fraternity led him into trouble, including prison and exile, yet his failures as an activist never shook his faith in a rational, generous future.

René Guénoun was drafted to defend Vichy France's colonies in the Middle East during World War II. At the same time, Vichy barred him and his wife from teaching because they were Jewish. When the British conquered Syria, he was sent home to Oran, and in 1943, after the Allies captured Algeria, he joined the Free French Army and fought in Europe. After the war, both parents did their best to reconcile militant unionism and clandestine party activity with the demands of work and family. The Guénouns had little interest in Israel and considered themselves at home in Algeria; yet because he supported Algerian independence, René Guénoun outraged his French neighbors and was expelled from Algeria by the French paramilitary Organisation Armée Secrète. He spent his final years in Marseille. Gracefully weaving together youthful memories with research into his father's life and times, Denis Guénoun re-creates an Algerian past that proved lovely, intellectually provocative, and dangerous.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book Virginia Woolf and the Bloomsbury Avant-garde by Denis Guenoun
Cover of the book The Land of the Five Flavors by Denis Guenoun
Cover of the book The Church Confronts Modernity by Denis Guenoun
Cover of the book Not Ours Alone by Denis Guenoun
Cover of the book Shapeholders by Denis Guenoun
Cover of the book Interest Rate Swaps and Other Derivatives by Denis Guenoun
Cover of the book The Science of the Oven by Denis Guenoun
Cover of the book What Is Relativity? by Denis Guenoun
Cover of the book Rational Investing by Denis Guenoun
Cover of the book Reforming the International Financial System for Development by Denis Guenoun
Cover of the book Queen Victoria's Secrets by Denis Guenoun
Cover of the book Stem Cell Dialogues by Denis Guenoun
Cover of the book Reading the Global by Denis Guenoun
Cover of the book The Designing for Growth Field Book by Denis Guenoun
Cover of the book Visions of the Apocalypse by Denis Guenoun
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy