Revisionary narratives: Moroccan women’s auto/biographical and testimonial acts

Abstract

reader seeking a broader understanding of how the use of Arabic literature evolved and shaped national education will not find that here. Nor does the author explain how she selected the novels she chose to read and analyse in detail, aside from the fact that she was seeking works in both French and in Arabic, and that education or the classroom needed to play a significant role in the text. As a result, the reader has no idea how large the potential universe of works she could have chosen from was, or on what bases she made her selections. In addition, the analysis does not explore in any depth the truly contentious nature of educational (curricular or other) reform. The author does mention some reforms proposed by former (2014-2019) Algerian Education Minister, Nouria Benghabrit, but she could have easily devoted an entire chapter to the terrible opposition Benghabrit faced as she tried to implement basic reforms. Given that experience, for Twohig to suggest – if this reviewer has understood her correctly – that the imaginative or transgressive powers of literature could have succeeded in showing the way to educational reform where committed, enlightened humans fail, seems to me at best naïve. These reservations aside, this is an ambitious, well-written, interdisciplinary work. That it only partially succeeds in what it sets out to do owes to the fact that it would have been impossible to engage in a 200-page monograph all of the fascinating socio-political, literary, cultural, and pedagogical issues it raises. It is highly recommended to anyone interested in Maghrebi literature and the challenges of post-colonial education.