Urban Identity in Colonial Tunisia (original) (raw)

This article presents a microhistory of an early 20th-century Tunisian intellectual, Salih Suwaysi, within the context of cross-regional (Maghrib–Mashriq) literary and intellectual trends. Analyzing Suwaysi’s use of the conventional literary genre of maq¯am¯at illustrates his deep understanding of the problems caused by France’s occupation of Tunisia and highlights the significance of historical and contemporary urban space for the author. Revitalized during the nahda period, maq¯am¯at were employed by writers to address issues and problems facing contemporary society, in contrast to some of the earlier maq¯am¯at that focused on language and language structure more than on narrative content. Suwaysi followed his eastern Mediterranean, especially Egyptian, contemporaries in turning to this genre to convey his critical commentaries on social, religious, and political life under the French Protectorate in Tunisia.