Albert Memmi facts for kids
Albert Memmi (Arabic: ألبير ممّي) was a French-Tunisian writer and essayist. He was born on December 15, 1920, and passed away on May 22, 2020. Memmi came from a Tunisian-Jewish family and wrote many important books about identity, colonialism, and racism.
Contents
About Albert Memmi
Early Life and Education
Albert Memmi was born in Tunis, which was then part of French Tunisia, in December 1920. His mother, Maïra Sarfati, was a Tunisian Jewish woman of Berber background. His father, Fradji Memmi, was a Tunisian man of Italian-Jewish background. Albert grew up speaking both French and a special kind of Arabic called Tunisian-Judeo-Arabic.
During World War II, when the Nazis occupied Tunisia, Albert Memmi was forced to work in a labor camp. He managed to escape from the camp later.
He went to French schools and then studied philosophy at the University of Algiers. Later, he continued his studies at the Sorbonne in Paris, France. Albert Memmi often felt like he was living between three different cultures. His writings often explored how hard it was to find a balance between Eastern and Western ways of life.
Life as a Teacher
Besides writing, Albert Memmi also had a career as a teacher. He taught at the Carnot high school in Tunis starting in 1953. After Tunisia became independent, he moved to France. There, he continued teaching at important schools like the École pratique des hautes études and the École des hautes études commerciales in Paris. He also taught at the University of Nanterre from 1970.
Leaving Tunisia
Albert Memmi supported Tunisia's fight for independence from France. However, after Tunisia became an independent Muslim country, he found it hard to fit in. This was because of his French education and his Jewish faith. After independence, he was asked to leave the new state. He passed away in May 2020 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, at the age of 99.
Albert Memmi's Books
Famous Novels
Albert Memmi's first novel was called La statue de sel, which means The Pillar of Salt. It was published in 1953 and won the Fénéon Prize in 1954. Famous writer Albert Camus wrote the introduction for it. Some of his other novels include Agar (translated as Strangers), Le Scorpion (The Scorpion), and Le Desert (The Desert).
Understanding Colonialism
His most famous non-fiction book is The Colonizer and the Colonized. This book talks about the complex relationship between people who colonize a country and the people who are colonized. It came out in 1957, a time when many countries were fighting for their freedom. Another famous writer, Jean-Paul Sartre, wrote the introduction for this book.
This book is often read alongside other important works about colonialism. In 2006, Memmi wrote a follow-up book called Decolonization and the Decolonized. In this book, he suggested that after countries gain independence, their problems might not just be the fault of their former colonizers. He argued that corrupt leaders and governments in those new states also cause suffering.
Ideas on Society and Identity
Memmi also wrote other books about society, such as Dominated Man, Dependence, and Racism.
Sean P. Hier, who reviewed Memmi's book Racism, said it was "well-written." He explained that Memmi believed racism is something people experience in their daily lives. Memmi thought that racism is a common part of human groups.
Albert Memmi wrote a lot about Jewish identity. Some of his books on this topic include Portrait of a Jew, Liberation of the Jew, and Jews and Arabs.
He also helped create the Anthology of Maghrebian literature. This was a collection of writings from North Africa, published in two parts in 1965 and 1969.
Scholar Judith Roumani said that Memmi's fiction shows how his ideas changed over time. She noted that his later novels were more new and different than his earlier ones.
In 1995, Memmi described his own work. He said that all his writing was about understanding his connections to different groups. He also said it was a constant fight against those connections. Finally, he saw his work as an attempt to bring together the different parts of himself.
Challenging Racism
In his book Racisme (Racism), Albert Memmi defined racism as a social idea. He said it's when people give meaning to biological differences, whether real or imagined. They do this to benefit themselves and harm others.
By saying this, he argued against "scientific racism." This was a false belief that there was scientific proof for racist ideas. Memmi disagreed with three main points of scientific racism:
- First, the idea that pure and separate races exist. Memmi said that biological differences among people change gradually across different places. He believed the idea of "pure" races was just a fantasy.
- Second, the idea that some "pure" races were naturally better than others.
- Third, the idea that "superior" races had a right to control others. Memmi argued that there was no proof for racial purity. He believed that a person's worth, not their biology, was the only basis for being "superior."
In these ways, Memmi's ideas about racism being a social construct were very important. They helped to show that science could not be used to support racist thinking.
