Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Frantz Fanon: Wretched of The Earth

Frantz Omar Fanon was born on July 20, 1925 on the Caribbean Island, Martinique, and died on December 6, 1961.

He wrote extensively and is famously cited as an inspiration for anti-colonial movements across the globe. His books include:"The Fact of Blackness"(1952); Black Skin, White Masks (1952); A Dying Colonialism (1959); The Wretched of the Earth (1961); Toward the African Revolution(1969).

As you can see from the publication dates (some books were subsequently translated), Fanon produced an impressive body of revolutionary literature over two decades.

We will focus our attention on Wretched of The Earth (1961) which is a seminal text in the field of Postcolonial Studies.

The foreword to "Wretched" is written by Jean-Paul Sartre and is an excellent place to start your reading.

Fanon wrote "Wretched" during the Algerian struggle against French colonialism. The book is more than just an account of what happened in that colonial struggle. Instead, Fanon spends most of his time analyzing the disastrous effects of colonialism on the minds of the colonized.

His interest in this angle of revolutionary analysis stems from his training as a psychiatrist. Toward the end of "Wretched" you will find discussions of the mental illnesses he says is caused by colonialism.

In 1952 Fanon started to practice psychiatry in an Algerian hospital. In October 1952 he married a young white Frenchwoman, Marie-Josephe ("Josie") Duble.

In 1954 the National Liberation Front (FLN) declared was against French rule. By 1957 Fanon resigned his position as psychiatrist and joined the Algerian liberation movement.

Fanon was very active in supporting the FLN and even established what is said to be Africa's first psychiatric clinic during this time.

There were several assassination attempts on Fanon's life. By 1960 he was diagnosed with leukemia and he went to the US to seek medical treatment. He died in Washington, DC, on December 12, 1961. He was buried in Algeria. His wife, Josie Fanon, took her life in Algiers in 1989.

We are no doubt ambitious to embark on a full reading on Fanon this late in the term but I think we can draw some important cursory lessons. These will be important to understand Steve Biko's "I Write What I Like" because both analysts delve into the psychological context of oppression and liberation.

We will begin our discussion where Fanon does. He writes in the opening chapter:
National liberation, national renaissance, the restoration of nationhood to the people, commonwealth: whatever may be the headings used of the new formulas introduced, decolonization is always a violent phenomenon. At whatever level we study it - relationships between individuals, new names for sports clubs, the human admixture at cocktail parties, in the police, on the directing boards of national or private banks - decolonization is quite simply the replacing of a certain "species" of men by another "species" of men.
(Wretched, p.35)

From this opening paragraph, we can see that Fanon postures liberation as a struggle of absolutes between colonized and colonizer, a dialectic if you will.

He goes on to say:
To tell the truth, the proof of success lies in a whole social structure being changed from the bottom up.
(Wretched, p.35)

There is in this opening conceptualization no middle-ground, so to speak. Comprise does not exist in the battle for absolutes (survival) between colonizer and colonized.

In a very direct sense. The consequences of the anti-colonial liberation struggle is as severe for the colonized as it is for the colonizer.

Fanon tells us that decolonization is "a program of disorder" than comes about when two forces meet(colonizer vs colonized) in a determined historical process.

Two points need to be taken in account from this position.

First, decolonization is "disorder" but it is planned (determined) by the historical forces/process.

Fanon is clearly influenced by Marxist thinking when he explains to us his version of material change.

Nothing happens by chance. The dialectic is a matter of clashing historical points that move us to a new reality (a synthesis) which posits a new historical position.

Remember his quote above that reveals decolonization as a process of disempowering the colonizer and empowering 'the new species of man', the liberated man.

It is important to note that violent struggle is the backdrop to all of his theorizing. Change does not happen without violent confrontation.

I part, a major part, Fanon believes that colonization is an absolute violence and that revolutionary struggle cannot meet and absolute without a greater violence.

Peaceful change in absolute struggles is not possible for Fanon.

Decolonization for the oppressed/colonized is also a story of re-creation but not in terms that are religious.

Fanon writes:
Decolonization is the veritable creation of new men. But this creation owes nothing of its legitimacy to any supernatural power (God/religion); the "thing" which has been colonized becomes man during the same process by which it frees itself.
("Wretched", pp. 37-37).

Fanon position is that the very essence of colonization must be subject to question and change.

Nothing stays the same because everything about colonization is oppressive. There are no kind or progressive notions hidden underneath colonial oppression for Fanon.

His reasoning stems from the manner that he describes the colonial context.

He says the "colonial world is divided into two compartments" with "quarters for Europeans (colonizer) and Natives (colonized).

The two compartments are opposed to each other, therefore, "No conciliation is possible, ..."

The colonizer is white and rich and presses inequality on the colonized. This is a violent imposition.

Fanon tells us that Marxist thinking must be "stretched" when viewing the colonial compartments.

It is not just about class. It is also about race. 'You are rich because you are white, you are poor and oppressed because you are black'.

The anti-colonial struggle can't merely reform this absolute dichotomy. It can't just make the 'rich white compartment' more equal or non-racial.

Instead, the colonial grid and its contents must be wholly removed, even expelled.

Compromise, again, is not possible in the struggle of inequalities brought on by colonization.

I want to stop here. There is much to chew on and many questions must be addressed.

We must now ask who will lead the revolutionary anti-colonial struggle? What role do intellectuals play in this anti-colonial struggle?

What about the peasants or what Lenin called the lumpenproletariat?.

What role does the colonial church and/or religion play in the liberation struggle?

What is the language of revolution and what about white/colonial values?

We will turn to these question in our next meetings.

Study hard.

Fanon Picture Credit
Book Cover Credit

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Assignment 1 and 2

Department of Political Studies and International Relations
HIRL 211

Assignment One and Two: 40 points
Due date: Thursday, April 15, 2010 (in class or it is late)

Please answer all the following questions:

Section A

1. What is modern political theory and why do we use it in political analysis? Provide a thoughtful short essay that utilizes concrete examples to discuss your answer. (20)

Section B
2. Discuss what is meant by the concept of nation-state in modern political theory. Why is it so difficult to be exact about what a nation signifies? (10)

3. Discuss the concept of consent in modern political theory. Be careful to provide an explanation of the differences between “express consent” and “tacit consent”. (10)

Please Note:
All answers must be typed and checked for spelling and grammar. You are expected to be thoughtful about your answers so think through what you are saying and make compelling arguments. Use illustrative examples to support your points.

Do not just copy material from sources found on the internet. You will fail this assignment if you plagiarize from any source.

Your assignment is due in class on the date indicated above. Late assignments will be penalized by 5 points per day. An assignment that is three days late will not be accepted.

If you miss this assignment for medical reasons you will need a certified letter from a medical practitioner to lodge your excuse.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Lecture March 11: The Nation-State

The nation-state is a relatively modern idea. Its origins are said to be around the 16th century.

But how is the nation-state to be defined?

German sociologist Max Weber defined the state as "a human community with a defined territory" and monopoly over the use of legitimate force.

Two dimensions thus stand out: (1) Territory and (2) Legitimate force.

The two dimensions combine into what is called sovereignty. The state is the supreme authority over its territory. It can issue commands, and it must be obeyed (legitimate force).

Remember how Hobbes told us that the state (sovereign) is supreme? He meant that the state is supreme in absolute terms.

This aspect is open to debate, of course. Politics as we have said is fluid. There are no static positions.

Modern nation-states are both sovereign in a domestic sense, and in an international sense.

In the latter, the territorial borders (Locke) of a nation-state cannot be violated, for example. Therefore, the flow of goods and people into a given nation-state is always regulated.

The doctrine of popular sovereignty holds that the people (citizens) of a given nation-state legitimizes its authority.

We are still, however, left with having to discuss what is meant by a nation.

This is a tricky issue. The nation can be made up of multiple identifiers. These include language, ethnicity, race, culture, territory, history, politics, etc.

Still, the make-up of a nation is not a closed or defined thing, for a lack of a better term.

Nations are fluid concepts and best described as living organisms.

Some theorists like Benedict Anderson argue that the nation is an "imaginary community". It exists as a construct in our heads and is given meaning through media and other exchanges (like sport) that piece folk together.

Anderson says:
A nation "is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion."

For our purposes, it is best to describe a nation as a political community who legitimizes the state.

The nation-state is thus a combination of two political concepts. The state rules based on the popular sovereignty given to it by the nation.

Nonetheless, we are left with a lot of questions. But that is the nature of political theory.

We discussed the issue of immigrants in South Africa, both legal and illegal. Where do they fit into the fabric of our nation?

Should we ban all foreigners? Should we allow anyone who wants to live here to do so?

I invite you to think about this question even as you decide what it means to be a South African.

You may find these links useful:

What is a nation-state?

What is a nation?

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Authority and Consent

Much of what we discuss in this course speaks to authority (who rules) and consent (who is ruled).

Authority means that the state, for example, has authority over a citizen (individual). It also means that the individual consents to such authority.

Remember my example of who put the police in charge of the law (us)?

Consent theory is largely derived from contract theory. You will remember our analysis Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau (see previous posts below).

Consent theory says that when we consent to obey authority (the law) we take on the obligation to obey authority (the law).

Modern political theory particularly emphasizes Locke's thinking on consent. He tells us that there is a distinction between express consent (voting) or tacit consent (obeying the law).

Lock like Plato claim that living in a state (resident citizen for example) means that the individual consents to obey its laws.

This emphasis is, of course, contested. Remember that living in apartheid South Africa did not automatically imply consent by oppressed folk. This means that we must be careful to simply believe that obeying a law implies consent.

Some consent theorists also point out that voting is central to consent. Free elections processes authority. That process implies consent.

I want you to think about how and why you consent to live in South Africa and obey its laws.

What is the content of your consent?

What are the limits?

Lecture 1: March 4

We began by asking the question: "What is political theory?"

Political theory speaks to the society we live in and the rights and obligations we live by.

It must be said that there are many facets, or dimensions, to political theory. We can conveniently break it up into three broad categories:

1. Interpersonal relations
describe how we divide up the benefits and obligations within society. Much of the focus is on cooperative activities. For example, how do we cooperate and for what reasons? Or, how do we defend ourselves and how do we punish those who break rules/laws, etc.

2. Interpersonal-nation relations describe how individuals accept the political authority of the state and for what reasons. It is inside of this arena that important issues relating to consent and obligations are raised. Questions that probe the nature of justice and the rule of law. What are the limits of the rule of law, for example? Who rules and how? Why choose democracy or any other political system, and for what reasons?

3. Global relations raise interaction among states. Questions about the content of global community is raised. Is there such a thing as international law, for example? Do states cooperate outside of power arrangements?

In our work this term we will focus on categories 1 and 2. Category 3 will be dealt with in a third year course confined to International Relations Theory (HPOL 311).

You should note that the categories above break up into a myriad of sub issues. For example, what is equality? How is wealth distributed in society? Who leads and who follows? How is the family/individual protected in the state?

Ok, but what about the real world?

We must be careful not to conflate theory with practice. There are normative expectations that reflect the expectations of theory (who should govern for example).

But in practice (praxis) who should govern is complicated by a host of issues. Some of those issues my speak to moral expectations like the recent furore over President Zuma's personal relations.

So, we should always separate theory from praxis (practice). Also, we should expect that political theory is always in flux (changing).

Modern Political Thought Syllabus

We are playing catch-up and I have chosen to use this blog for purposes of our HPOL 211 Modern Political Thought

Below is out syllabus:

Department of Political Studies and International Relations

Course: HPOL 211 Modern Political Thought/Theory
Instructor: Dr. Ridwan Laher
Office: G06
Telephone: 018 389-2463
Email: Ridwan.Laher@nwu.ac.za

Course Description

This course is an introduction to the study of modern political theory. Students will be exposed to a comprehensive selection of contemporary issues in modern political theory. A significant section of the course is focused on the application of political theory to the African context in what is often referred to as the post-colonial moment.

Course Outcomes

Students will become familiar with the body of literature used in political theory
Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the purpose of theory and the various theoretical approaches
Students will be equipped to apply political theories to the critical analysis of contemporary issues in global and regional politics

Delivery Modes

• Contact through class lectures
• Selected presentations of case studies
• Peer learning through group activities

Assessment

• 2 take-home assignments 40%
• Mandatory attendance 10%
• Final Examination 50%

Course Outline

• Introduction to the study of Political Theory. What is political theory?
• Political authority and obligation. The Social Contract and consent.
• Situating the Nation-State. Legitimacy and Sovereignty.
• Democracy. Liberty and rights.
• Freedom, toleration and equality.
• Human rights.
• Race, Gender, Class, and multiculturalism
• The Postcolonial Critique
• Frantz Fanon: The Wretched of the Earth.
• Steve Biko: I Write What I Like.
• Conclusion: Political theory and the post-apartheid moment.

Required Core Texts

Fanon, Frantz. Wretched of the Earth. Grove Press: USA and Canada, 1963
Biko, Steve and A. Stubbs (editor). I Write What I Like University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 2001.

Related Reading

Desai, Gaurav and Supriya Nair. Postcolonialisms: An Anthology of Cultural Theory and Criticism. Rutgers University Press: New Jersey, 2005.
Satre, Jean Paul. Colonialism and Neocolonialism. Routledge: London and New York, 2001.

Please Note

You are expected to attend all classes. Students who miss more than a week (2 classes) will automatically lose 10% of their semester mark. Absences due to medical emergencies/illness or death of a relative require official documentation. Please arrive on time for all classes, turn off your cell phone, and take detailed notes during lectures. You are expected to keep current with all readings and assignment dates. The content of the 2 assignments and their due dates will be discussed in class.

Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Please do not take the chance of merely copying material from the Internet or elsewhere for your class assignments. Plagiarism will result in the allocation of zero points for the assignment(s) concerned.