Reading Joyce in Algiers

ABSTRACTMaghrebi Studies often struggles to situate cultural production from North Africa. Some scholars advocate a Mediterranean approach, while others reposition the field along an East-West axis. Novels like Daoud's Meursault, contre-enquete1 have once again foregrounded the colonial legacy, while at the same time, pop culture has taken a transnational turn. Eager to replace the nation as the primary referent, new approaches honor the multidirectional flow of texts and have recast Maghrebi cultural production as fluid. This paper proposes an interpretive frame constructed around postcolonial affinity, linking cultural production from North Africa to other postcolonial spaces. Specifically, it considers the role that Irish literature has played in post-independence Algeria. While previous studies have compared the political tactics used by anti-colonial forces in both contexts, I consider the reception and adaptation of Irish literature in modern Algeria. Joyce's Ulysses was a model for Salim Bachi's Le...