INTERVIEW |
Margarita García, Professor of French Philology at the University of Cantabria and specialist in Francophone Maghrebian Literature, reflects on borders, memory and discrimination in postcolonial contexts following her participation as a lecturer in a EUNICE summer school.
Margarita García, Professor of French Philology at the University of Cantabria (Spain), participated as a lecturer in the EUNICE summer school ‘Crossing Borders: Colonial Echoes in Language, Space and Culture’, held in July 2025 at the University of Mons (Belgium). The summer school brought together lecturers and students from EUNICE universities to explore how colonial legacies continue to shape identities in migration-marked societies. Prof. García, who specialises in Maghreb literature in French and in issues of identity among French authors with immigrant roots, talks to us about her experience and the debates that arose in the classroom.
1. As a teacher at the EUNICE ‘Crossing Borders’ summer school in Mons (Belgium), how did you approach postcolonialism, literature and the relationship between the two?
Considering the fact that postcolonialism entails a critical position from the previous colonies, I decided to adopt a dual perspective. Therefore, I decided to adopt a dual lecture. I selected two French poets whose works address the former French Antilles. Through the poems of Saint-John Perse, born in Guadeloupe, and of Aimé Césaire, born in Haiti, I showed how each of them is representative of a different gaze while describing the Antilles. In order to understand postcolonialism, it is necessary to partake of a global vision: in this case, one must be knowledgeable of French literature as well as the history of the Haitian people and of their past of slavery.
2. How did you explain concepts such as postcolonialism and “crossing borders” in the Belgian environments of Brussels and Mons?
In the online classes, we introduced the concept of colonialism. Once in Mons, we analysed buildings connected to the colonial past and, later on, we went on a chocolate tour in Brussels. During our visit, we approached the colonial past of the country through the chocolate industry. For Europeans this product is connected to pleasurable moments, for us it is an element of our diet while for the Congolese people it embodies a past of suffering and of colonial exploitation. Thus, chocolate took on different facets and contributed to an understanding of postcolonialism.
3. Do you think the students strengthened their critical awareness?
I think we taught them to see the world through different eyes. Nowadays, the Internet is the source of knowledge which means that our duty as teachers is to provide and strengthen critical thinking. I believe that we achieved it: I’d never seen such a passionate class.
4. Did any debate arise in the classes?
A student from India, a former British colony, realised that he himself was a product of post-colonialism: he studies in Germany and his language of study is English, the language of the former colonising power, and also a language which he must master in order to find his place in the world. Linguistically, it means one thing; but from an identity perspective, it takes on a different dimension. Students were made aware that it all depends on our perspective.
5. What are the identity issues regarding the uprooting of the immigrant community?
Without closing the debate, one can say that the elements that constitute our everyday life, as clothing and food, can become signs of identity. We aimed to show students that the identity phenomenon isn’t unique, but that each person expresses it in his or her own way.
6. How does the immigrant community deal with the identity crisis and discrimination? What are the different faces of discrimination today?
There are different ways to fight discrimination. Some French citizens of immigrant origin avoid names like Ali, Mouhamed, or Fatma, opting for ones which are more Western-sounding.
Discrimination can take different forms. There is what is known as ‘face crime’. I experienced this in Paris while with friends. The police stopped us and asked those with foreign features for their identification, but I wasn’t required to do so. Likewise, there are the ‘accent crime’ and the ‘place crime’, because if one lives in certain neighbourhoods, that person may experience discrimination.
