Born in Martinique in 1925, Frantz Fanon is renowned as a theorist of decolonization and a foundation in the field of postcolonial studies. He was a student of Aimé Césaire before studying psychology in France and eventually joining the liberation struggle in Algeria. His reflections on colonialism, race and politics earned him the attention of political figures across the world, including Jean-Paul Sartre, Che Guevara, Malcolm X and Steve Biko. And when he died at the age of 36, he left behind not only a collection of his writing, but an entire legacy that continues to inform academic discussions of race and psychoanalysis, as well as literature, politics and culture.

Our course will focus on Fanon’s complete works, beginning with Black Skin, White Masks and extending on to A Dying Colonialism and Wretched of the Earth. During the ten weeks, we will analyze how Fanon’s writing both describes the colonial situation and envisions a liberated future, and we will combine sources on Fanon’s biography with accounts of his critical afterlife in postcolonial studies, cultural theory and comparative literature.