Rethinking Fanon : The Continuing Dialogue, edited by Nigel Gibson

French West Indian psychoanalyst & social philosopher Frantz Fanon (1925-1961) rejected his French citizenship & became a strong advocate of the Algerian liberation movement in the 1950s. A brilliant scholar who developed the theory that some neuroses are socially generated, Fanon's revolutionary works The Wretched of the Earth, Toward the African Revolution, & Black Skin White Masks founded an African intellectual awakening. The rebirth of Fanonism today in universities & the English speaking world is a testament to his relevance.

Edited by political theorist and African studies professor Nigel C. Gibson, Rethinking Fanon opens with an authoritative biography correcting fallacious assertions about Fanon's life, situating him in Marxism, negritude, Pan-Africanism, and the historical context of postwar decolonization, specifically the Algerian revolution. Section one is highlighted by extended discussions of Marx, Fanon's theories on sophisticated forms of cultural racism, and "true liberation, " as well as his influence on radical movements in the United States and Africa.

Homi Bhabha's "Remembering Fanon" opens section 2, which also contains discussions of the importance of the cultural and literary debates on Fanon by Henry Louis Gates Jr., Edward Said, and Benita Parry. Then Hussein Bulhan's investigation of Fanon's revolutionary psychiatric approaches provides another focal point, as do Bhabha's and Diana Fuss's psychoanalytical discussions of Fanon.

The third section dramatically highlights debates concerning gender and status of women in movements of national liberation and their aftermath. These range from Helie-Lucas's notion of Fanon as one of those who contributed to the "myth of the Algerian woman liberated along with her country" to Sharpley-Whiting'svindication of Fanon as "pro-feminist, " as well as articles by Fuss and Anne McClintock.

The book concludes with essays by Nigel Gibson and Lou Turner that examine new aspects of Fanon's politics and philosophy.

Nigel Gibson is assistant director of the Institute of African Studies at Columbia University.

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

* Frantz Fanon: Portrait of a Revolutionary Intellectual Emmanuel Hansen 

* Rescuing Fanon from the Critics Tony Martin 

* Frantz Fanon, World Revolutionary Lou Turner & John Alan 

* Fanon as a Democratic Theorist Hussein M. Adam 

* Revolutionary Psychiatry of Fanon Hussein A. Bulhan 

* Remembering Fanon Homi Bhabha 

* Travelling Theory Reconsidered Edward W. Said 

* Resistance Theory Benita Parry 

* Critical Fanonism Henry Louis Gates, Jr. 

* Women, Nationalism & Religion in the Algerian Liberation Struggle Marie-Aimee Helie-Lucas 

* Fanon & Gender Agency Anne McClintock 

* Interior Colonies Diana Fuss 

* Fanon's Feminist Consciousness & Algerian Women's Liberation T. Denean Sharpley-Whiting 

* Fanon & the FLN Lou Turner 

* Inside the Structure of the People Nigel C. Gibson

Prometheus Books, Publishers (1999)