The Post-Colonial and Post-Industrial Condition in French Literature since 2007

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My research will focus on recent French literature and address these questions: how is the working classdefined in post-colonial and -industrial France?; how is this translated in literature?; how does this relateto republican principles? My contention would be that those who have grown up in this society have nooption but to transcend traditional categorisations of class and ethnic identity, and that this has been thecatalyst for a distinctively assertive, radical and sometimes antagonistic literature. At a moment whenthe volatile relationship between communities of immigrant origin and the dominant culture is in thebalance, and when a divisive figure such as Eric Zemmour can emerge as presidential candidate,evidence would suggest that recent novelists - predominantly of immigrant origin but unambiguouslyFrench - have a contemporary vision for liberté, égalité, fraternité.I would anticipate opening with a discussion of the circumstances which provoked the publication in 2007of 'Qui fait la France?' by Les Indigènes de la République, a multicultural group of young, proletarianwriters, advocating a committed literature which gives voice to those hitherto marginalised, both insociety and particularly in the literary world. This can be seen in contrast to commentators as diverse asMichel Houellebecq or Emmanuel Todd, ostensibly 'establishment' figures whose work is characterised bycynicism towards republican values.