Abdelkébir Khatibi: Postcolonialism, Transnationalism, and Culture in the Maghreb and Beyond

Abdelkébir Khatibi (1938-2009) is one of the greatest Moroccan thinkers, and one of the most important theorists of both postcolonialism and Islamic culture of the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. This book introduces his works to Anglophone readers, tracing his development from the early work on sociology in Morocco to his literary and aesthetic works championing transnationalism and multilingualism. The essays here both offer close analyses of Khatibi’s engagements with a range of issues, from Moroccan politics to Arabic calligraphy and from decolonisation to interculturality, and highlights the important contribution of his thinking to the development of Western postcolonial and modern theory. The book acknowledges the legacy of one of the greatest African thinkers of the last century, and addresses the lack of attention to his work in the field of postcolonial studies. More than a writer, a sociologist or a thinker, Khatibi was a leading figure and an eclectic intellectual whose erudite works can still inform and enrich current reflections on the future of postcolonialism and the development of intercultural and transnational studies. The book also includes translated excerpts from Khatibi’s works, thus offering a multilingual perspective on his writing.

Contributors: Assia Belhabib, Jasmina Bolfek-Radovani, Dominique Combe, Rim Feriani, Charles Forsdick, Olivia C. Harrison, Jane Hiddleston, Debra Kelly, Khalid Lyamlahy, Lucy McNeece, Matt Reeck, Alison Rice, Nao Sawada, Andy Stafford, Edwige Tamalet Talbayev, Alfonso de Toro

Jane Hiddleston is a Professor of Literatures in French at the University of Oxford.

Khalid Lyamlahy is Assistant Professor of French and Francophone Studies at the University of Chicago.