Future Projects

I am working on publishing the fifth chapter of my dissertation entitled “North African Immigration in France, the Aftermath of the Algerian War in Les Mohamed and Une Famille Nombreuse” in the Journal of European Popular Culture. In this article, I analyze North African immigrants and ethnic minority lived experiences using Les Mohamed by Jérôme Ruillier (2011) and Une Famille nombreuse by Chadia Chaibi Loueslati (2017), two graphic novels that depict the North African immigrants’ contribution to a more diverse French History and the family/communities’ histories. By telling personal stories, I argue that Ruillier and Loueslati intervene in the historical debates on French identity, which includes debates on nationality, national security, social integration, and Muslim differences. Throughout this chapter, I analyze the various framing strategies that Ruillier and Loueslati use to change French readers’ perception of the North African identity and ultimately to speak against the myth of cultural assimilation. Both authors succeed at creating a collective memory that promotes a discourse in favor of integration.

I am also working on transforming a former chapter of my dissertation into an article. It is entitled “Collective Memory versus Official Memory: the discerning usage of graphic narratives in L’Ombre de Charonne by Alain and Denise Frappier” and it demonstrates how the Frappiers use the medium to emphasize the role of the media in framing the event of February 8, 1962, opposing and creating a tension between official memory and collective memory, which reflect the ways in which the media sometimes deliberately disinform the population, favoring the image of the French government.

Lastly, in the near future, I am planning an article on the use of comics in French classrooms.