A “New Man” for a New Nation: Activism and Physical Culture in Late Colonial Algeria

Abstract

While French development schemes in late colonial Algeria are well studied, much less attention has been devoted to indigenous ideas around a transformation of society in this period. The article discusses the thought of two prominent intellectuals, the Islamic reformist Malek Bennabi and the Marxist Frantz Fanon, on the “New Man.” Looking at the last two decades of French rule in Algeria (1942–62), it also analyses processes of shaping “New Men” in reformist and nationalist circles, in particular in the Muslim scout movement and with regard to sports. Finally, it takes into consideration the generational dimension of Algerian anticolonialism, which opposed youth activism to the traditionalism of “old men.”