On the move in the (post)colonial metropolis: The Paris Metro in Francophone African and Afrodiasporic fiction

Anna-Leena Toivanen

Urban Studies, 2023, vol. 60, issue 15, 3061-3077

Abstract: Literary texts convey the complexities of the urban experience in a tangible way. While there is a wide body of work on literary representations of Paris, the role of public transport as part of the (postcolonial) urban experience has not received much attention. This article sets out to analyse the meanings of the mobile public space comprising the Paris Metro in Francophone African and Afrodiasporic literary texts from the mid-20th century to the 2010s. The reading demonstrates how the texts represent the public space of the Metro as a symbol of modernity, a space of disappointment and alienation, an embodiment of social inequalities and as a site of convivial encounters and claims of agency. Through this analysis, the article highlights the role of literature in elucidating the intertwinement of mobility, public space and postcolonial urbanity.

Keywords: Francophone African literature; Paris Metro; postcoloniality; public space; æ³•è¯­é žæ´²æ–‡å­¦; 巴黎地é“; å Žæ®–æ°‘; 公共空间 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:60:y:2023:i:15:p:3061-3077

DOI: 10.1177/00420980211053976

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