{"product_id":"in-defence-of-barbarism","title":"In Defence of Barbarism","description":"Is social integration all it’s cracked up to be? Not in the defiant view of first-time French author Louisa Yousfi, who herself has North African roots. Taking its inspiration from the leading Algerian writer Kateb Yacine (‘I’m better off not being too cultivated. I have to retain a certain barbarianism’), this provocative essay explores ways of resisting the cultural and moral hegemony of the French ‘Empire’. Citing a wide range of cultural references, from the characters of Chester Himes and Toni Morrison to the in-your-face rap lyrics of the ‘street prophets’ Booba and PNL, she extolls the virtues of her inner barbarian and champions those brave souls who refuse to be ‘domesticated’.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eChallenging the conventional wisdom that posits integration as an unalloyed good, she shows how assimilation can equate to the loss of traditions, religion, language, and culture. And, whether discussing 9\/11, the Algerian colonial era, the media treatment of celebrities of Arab origin, or the second-class status of French citizens from an immigrant background, she holds an uncompromising mirror up to the West and its moral shortcomings, as if to say: a barbarian I may be, but who is the real monster? Yousfi - a young, charismatic and dynamic author who uses a refreshingly wide range of cultural reference points, including rap music, to construct her argument - opens up the path of a decolonial cultural politics and an aesthetics of resistance.","brand":"Verso Books","offers":[{"title":"paperback","offer_id":50192175857941,"sku":"jwp1789933261592","price":11.31,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"ebook (UK)","offer_id":50192175890709,"sku":"rvj1789933261593","price":10.17,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"ebook (US)","offer_id":50192175923477,"sku":"lii1789933261594","price":6.19,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0878\/5349\/8645\/files\/in-defence-of-barbarism_1.jpg?v=1789933267","url":"https:\/\/zenmatfitk.shop\/products\/in-defence-of-barbarism","provider":"My Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}