Sudan, Salih, and Fanon

Setting and History of Sudan

• Pre-colonization:

  • Diverse and resource-rich land

  • Tribal control by local communities

• Colonial Period:

  • Foreign rule by Egypt and later home rule under Christian and Muslim governments

  • Unified administration under the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium (1899-1956)

    • British held primary political and military power

    • Division into:

      • North: Predominantly Muslim, Arabic-speaking

      • South: Multi-religious, ethnic, and linguistic communities

    • Control of education:

      • North: British managed education

      • South: Left to Christian missionaries

• Independence:

  • Achieved in 1956, establishing the Republic of Sudan

• Civil Wars:

  • First Sudanese Civil War (1955-1972)

  • Second Sudanese Civil War (1983-2005)

  • South Sudan’s Independence (2011)

  • Third Sudanese Civil War (2023-present)

• Historical Illustration:

  • An 1897 lithograph depicting the Mahdist War (1881-1899)

Tayeb Salih

• Tayeb Salih (1929–2009):

  • Often regarded as “the genius of the Arabic novel” by leading Arab critics (1976)

  • Noted for his works as a writer, novelist, journalist, and UNESCO staff member

  • His novel Season of Migration to the North (SMN) recognized as “the most important Arab novel of the 20th century” (2001)

  • Initial serialization in a Lebanese magazine in 1966, published as a book in 1967

  • Collaborated closely with translator Denys Johnson-Davies

    • Renowned for his work between Arabic and English, acknowledged by Edward Said

  • Salih emphasized the significance of writing in Arabic as a matter of principle, in contrast to using English, the colonial language

Page 6: Postcolonial Theory

• Frantz Fanon:

  • Martinican psychiatrist and political philosopher recognized for his anticolonial perspectives

  • Key Works:

    • The Wretched of the Earth (1961)

    • Black Skin, White Masks (1952)

  • Autoethnography:

    • Blends personal experiences with historical critique of colonial impact on identity

  • Examination of violence:

    • Colonial violence against colonized cultures and peoples

    • Anti-colonial violence as a response to reclaim dignity

  • Impact of colonialism on the psyche of both Black and White individuals

  • Concept of the “white mask” – adopting a façade to assimilate into white society

  • Inquiry into how SMN integrates these postcolonial theories and themes