ebooks A Frenchwoman's Imperial Story: Madame Luce in Nineteenth-Century Algeria by Rebecca Rogers in History

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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Giving Voice to Malala’s Forgotten SistersBy Patricia M. HudsonAs the evidence continues to mount that educating girls in emerging countries is the single most potent engine of social and economic development; French-American historian Rebecca Rogers provides a timely and beautifully crafted story of one French woman’s struggles to bring girls’ education and cross-cultural understanding to France’s 19th century colonial experiment in Algeria. While Rogers’ heroine; Madame Luce; influenced by Saint-Simonian ideals; began by focusing on teaching indigenous Algerian girls to read and write in order to contribute to the French “civilizing mission” in the Maghreb; she soon encounters the same prejudices that continue to color today’s struggles to give voice to the other half of humanity. French colonial officials cut off funding to Madame Luce’s school in part because they feared teaching indigenous Algerian girls to read and write and introducing them to European culture “sullied them for Arab life.” Sound familiar? Madame Luce then readapted her school to train Algerian girls in the art of embroidery; providing them with an important livelihood and creating the groundwork for an indigenous handicraft industry that lives on today. In meticulously tracing the political; cultural and economic forces that shaped Madame Luce’s life; Rogers not only restores important contours to the story of French colonization in Africa and the history of girls education; she lovingly shines a light on her own devotion to the historian’s vocation and the joy of giving life to forgotten figures. In doing so; Rogers takes this beautiful story beyond the narrow confines of historiography and presents us with an important addition to understanding today’s most urgent challenges of bridging differences across Christian and Muslim traditions and reconfiguring social hierarchies.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. What a fascinating woman!By Mary L RobertsMadame Luce was an indomitable woman who challenged the norms of both race and gender in her efforts to educate Algerian girls. Rogers has opened up a whole new field of study here; and brought the issue of gender to the study of French imperialism in a novel way. She writes with great intelligence and erudition. But at the heart of this book is a great story of an amazing woman; told with elegance and verve.--Mary Louise Roberts; Professor; University of Wisconsin Madison