I've heard it said that Algeria was different from other French colonies in that it was almost seen as more of a French state. To what extent is this true, and how were residents of Algeria perceived compared to residents of other French overseas holdings?

by kdfsjljklgjfg

I posted this a few months ago and didn't get anything, maybe the time is more ripe today.

DesideriusMelas

Hello! I can't give you a comparison to the overseas territories, but there are some very good works on the perception of Algeria in France after 1950. What I can personally recommend are the early works of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu (see literature at the end). Based on the comparison between the urban elite in France (to which he never really found himself "suited") and some tribes in Algeria, Bourdieu developed the methodological tool to make such sociological comparisons comprehensive.

Algeria 1960: The Disenchantment of the World: The Sense of Honour: The Kabyle House or the World Reversed: Essays, Cambridge University Press 1979.

Esquisse d’une théorie de la pratique. Précédé de Trois études d’ethnologie kabyle, Librairie Droz, Genf 1972