Colonial Ambivalence, Cultural Authenticity, and the Limitations of Mimicry in French-Ruled West Africa, 1914-1956

The Author: James E. Genova is Assistant Professor of History at Indiana State University and Senior Lecturer in African Studies at Ohio State University. He received his Ph.D. in history from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He has published numerous articles in professional journals and has also edited volumes.

«This is the fascinating story of the European-educated Africans shipwrecked by the colonial situation. One view held by some of the colonized as well as the colonizers saw this bicultural elite as making ‘the scaffolding of the structure’ being built in Greater France. But in the eyes of other members of each society, these évolué were ‘stranded between two societies’. If we want to understand today’s crisis of the African state and France’s ambivalences about their immigrants – brilliantly, Genova explains the links – this book is a must-read.» (Herman Lebovics, Author of ‘True France and Imperial Republic’)«‘Colonial Ambivalence, Cultural Authenticity, the Limitations of Mimicry in French-Ruled West Africa, 1914-1956’ is an innovative historical inquiry into French colonialism in Africa. The book is a comprehensive analysis of how the Federation of French West Africa achieved independence and how France was in turn transformed by its imperial encounters with Africa. Emphasizing the construction of African and French identities, the Western-educated African elite straddled the complicated boundaries of colonizer and colonized, citizen and subject, France and Africa. Drawing from historical sociology and postcolonial theory, Genova critically interrogates the tensions among notions of citizenship, culture, race, and empire. In lucid language, he shows how these themes reinforced the power of the Francophone West African elite. His detailed analyses of elite formation, decolonization, and the construction of national identities provides critical historical insight into recent political developments in France and West African states. Colonial Ambivalence is impressive in its creativity and scope. This sophisticated and impressive scholarship will have a significant impact on African and French studies. Genova has written an excellent monograph in the highest standard of African historical studies.» (Olufemi Vaughan, Professor of African studies and of History, State University of New York, Stony Brook)