And Other Deaths Have Followed … (with Mouloud Feraoun)

ABSTRACT

This essay, written in a journal-like format, attends to the journal written by Algerian writer Mouloud Feraoun from November 1955 to March 1962, during Algeria’s war of independence against France, and published in France in 1962 with the title Journal 1955–1962. In giving thought to the themes conveyed in the journal, from the devastating effects of the war on people’s lives in Algeria to implications of violence and death, the essay speaks to recurrent dynamics of violence and subjection in the contemporary world, and the lasting significance of Mouloud Feraoun’s writings on life, death, violence, colonialism, as well as the act of testimonial writing.

KEYWORDS:

• Mouloud Feraoun
• Algeria
• France
• colonialism
• violence
• death

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Robert Desjarlais is an anthropologist and writer who teaches at Sarah Lawrence College, in New York. He has conducted anthropological research in Nepal, the United States, and France. He is currently undertaking research and writing efforts that attend to themes of violence, colonialism, and life and death in France and Algeria.