A History of Algeria & the Worlds of Islam | Professor James McDougall

The conversation covers the historical emergence of Algeria as a political and territorial unit, starting in the Ottoman period in the 16th century. Key pivotal moments in Algerian history are highlighted, including French colonialism beginning in 1830, which led to a settler colonial project, the rise of the modern mass nationalist movement in the interwar period, the War of National Liberation (1954–1962), and the decade of violence in the 1990s. The latter half of the conversation focuses on the "Worlds of Islam," emphasizing a polycentric history with no single center. A historian, professor at the University of Oxford, and author of books "A History of Algeria" and "The Worlds of Islam: A Global History", James McDougall details the diverse "technologies" of Islam's spread, including its compelling initial mission, the appeal of social mobility for non-Arabs, trade networks, and the influence of Sufism. He also discusses the historical roots of Islamophobia, which is traced to the 19th-century colonial moment. He discusses why he was drawn to studying Algeria, a country he notes is often ignored in Middle East studies and is known as "the land of a million martyrs" for its iconic history of resistance to colonialism. 

 

0:00 Introduction

2:08 Intellectual Curiosity and Addressing Poor Understanding of the Region

7:37 When Did Algeria Begin to Exist? Debunking the Colonial Narrative

12:38 Pivotal Moments in Algerian History

13:48 The Ottoman Period (16th–19th Century) and Connection to the Levant

16:29 Settler Colonialism Under the French (1830 Onwards)

19:46 The War of National Liberation (1954–1962)

20:41 The Violence of the 1990s

21:35 Is the War of Independence Connected to the 1990s Civil Strife?

23:34 The Legacy of French Colonial Misunderstanding and Racism

31:27 Algeria as an Anti-Colonial Symbol Across the Arab World

32:18 Leadership of the Algerian Revolution

38:37 The Worlds of Islam: A Polycentric Global History

46:05 Technologies of Islam's Spread

49:18 Muslims as a Minority in the Middle East After the Early Conquests

53:15 Why Islam Did Not Spread Everywhere Earlier

55:20 The Historical Development of Islamophobia

Readings on Global history and Islamic history:

Josephine Quinn, How the World Made the West: A 4000 Year History (2024)

Cemil Aydin, The Idea of the Muslim World: A Global Intellectual History (2017)

 

Readings on Algeria:

Natalya Vince, The Algerian War, the Algerian Revolution (2020)

Malika Rahal, Algérie 1962, une histoire populaire (2022)

Jeffrey James Byrne, Mecca of Revolution: Algeria, Decolonization, and the Third World Order (2016)

Thomas Serres, The Suspended Disaster: Governing by Crisis in Bouteflika’s Algeria (2023)

Muriam Haleh Davis, Markets of Civilization: Islam and Racial Capitalism in Algeria (2022)

Christopher Silver, Recording History: Jews, Muslims and Music across 20th century North Africa (2022)

Sara Rahnema, The Future is Feminist: Women and Social Change in Interwar Algeria (2023)

 Arthur Asseraf, Electric News in Colonial Algeria (2019)

 

James Robert McDougall is a British historian and Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at the University of Oxford and Laithwaite Fellow in History at Trinity College, Oxford. His research mainly addresses the modern and contemporary Mediterranean; Middle Eastern, African and Islamic history, especially Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco, but also the history of European imperialism in the Arab world, modern Arab intellectual and political history, and the global history of Islam since c.1700; the French colonial empire in Africa; the Sahara; nationalism and revolutionary movements in Asia and Africa; comparative imperial history; historiography and critical theory. 

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