Lecture: Frantz Fanon and Black Skin, White Masks

Lecturer: D. Elizabeth Glasgow

Who was Frantz Fanon?

• Afro-French psychiatrist and philosopher
• Born in 1925 in Martinique under colonial rule
• Became a critic of colonial racism
• Influential friend: Aimé Césaire, a radical critic of colonialism
• Educated in France; served in French army during WWII
• Qualified as psychiatrist in 1951; Black Skin, White Masks rejected as a dissertation

Professional and Political Involvements

• Worked in Algeria starting 1953
• Algerian War for Independence: aligned with Front de Libération Nationale
• Expelled from Algeria in 1957
• Influenced his writing, especially "The Wretched of the Earth"

Black Skin, White Masks

• Main Argument: Colonial racism has psychopathological effects
  • Cultural assimilation damages colonized people
  • Prevents independent identity development
  • Equates blackness with evil, leading to aspiration to "whiteness"
  • Results in alienation and identity crisis

Key Concepts

• Cultural Assimilation: Replacement of native culture by colonial culture
• Identity and Alienation: Colonized unable to identify as black or achieve equality in colonial culture
• Psychological Impact: Sense of being subhuman

Fanon's Methodology

• Interdisciplinary approach
  • Marxism: Examines socio-economic issues of colonial racism
  • Psychoanalysis: Influences from Jacques Lacan
  • Negritude Movement: Articulates displaced identity of colonized people
  • Existentialism: Argues colonialism stifles free will
  • Psychiatric Experience: Shows practical effects on mental health

Why Black Skin, White Masks Matters

• Examines effects of colonial racism
• Original approach combining psychology, political theory, and literary criticism
• Considered controversial at the time
  • Contradicted belief of colonialism's benefit
• Laid groundwork for post-colonial and human rights studies

Relevance Today

• Racism still discussed openly; public perception shifted
• Text remains important for race relations discussion
  • Illuminates subtle permeation of racism in culture
• Examples of enduring racism: Confederate flag, news coverage, crime prevention, and government policy

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