| Date | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, January 29, 2016 | 3:00PM - 5:00PM | External Event, Department of History Sidney Smith 2098 100 St. George Street |
This talk will explore the development of social housing services for North African immigrants living in slums and shantytowns in Marseille after World War II. Administered by government agencies and private welfare providers, these services sought to prevent the formation of “ghettos” by re-housing slum-dwelling North Africans in transitional and other low-cost dwellings that promoted the adoption of modern forms of urban living. This talk pays special attention to the role these services played in efforts to “integrate” North Africans into late colonial French society, particularly during the Algerian War of Independence (1954-1962), when authorities identified shantytowns as sites of influence for Algerian nationalist groups like the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN). It also explores the continuation of these services in the early postcolonial era, when a significant immigration crisis placed additional limits on North Africans’ access to adequate housing. In so doing, this talk closely considers issues of continuity and change related to efforts to re-house North African slum-dwellers in Marseille, comparing, in particular, the spatial implications of social housing strategies carried out in the late colonial era to those implemented after decolonization.
Dustin Harris is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History at the University of Toronto. He holds a M.A. in History from Simon Fraser University and a B.A. in Honours History from the University of British Columbia. His dissertation project, titled “Muslims in Marseille: North African Immigration and French Social Welfare in the Late Colonial and Early Postcolonial Eras,” examines the interplay between social welfare initiatives, the settlement experiences of North African immigrants, and the legacies of French colonialism in the city of Marseille from 1945 to 1975.
If you are attending a Munk School event and require accommodation(s), please email the event contact listed above to make appropriate arrangements.
Disclaimer: Please note that events posted on this website are considered to be public events – unless otherwise stated – and you are choosing to enter a space where your image and/or voice may be captured as part of event proceedings that may be made public as part of a broadcast, webcast, or publication (online and in print). We make every effort to ensure your personal information is kept and used in compliance with the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA). If you have any questions please get in touch with our office at munkschool@utoronto.ca or 416-946-8900.