Cultural Identity In Algeria

Culture is one of the most relevant elements that can define not only a society but also a country’s cumulative beliefs and system. Often noted as the origins of a country, culture is definitive in the sense that it harbors all the elements that can provide justification on the traditions and norms set by the society for its members. More often than not, the society members follow norms in order to create a harmonious community, and the beliefs and the traditions serve as the poles or grounding rules for each member to follow. Culture is very dynamic in the way that it can change over a variety of foreign influences but what is permanent about it is that original elements about it often lingers with the influences, therefore making it multi-faceted and broad. More importantly, culture serves as an individual and unique trait each society has, and therefore sets it apart from other countries and other societies.

Algeria is located in North Africa, bordered in the northeast by Tunisia, the east by Libya the west by Morocco. The north land of Algeria is mountainous and very fertile, while the south is integrated with parts of the Sahara desert. The desert makes up more than 80% of Algeria. Algeria is 919,590 square miles making it the second largest country on the African Continent and the tenth largest country in the world. Culture is comprised of many different elements. Algeria is rich in culture and has a long history of events that have helped develop the traditions and culture that they now have today. In this essay, I will cover the ethnic groups that make up Algeria, languages spoken, religion, family, greetings, food, gender roles and marriage. All of these factor into Algeria’s cultural identity and affect the daily life’s of the Algerian people.

A culture can be defined as a way of life of a group of people- their behaviors, beliefs, values that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next. It also includes the customs, arts, literature, morals/values and traditions of a particular society or group (Virginia Encyclopedia). Culture can also be considered as a way of thinking, behaving, or working that exists in places or organizations. This topic is of huge importance to our society mainly in the state of

There are numerous definitions of culture but I will use the definition of the interpretive approach and Clifford Geertz’s, which defines culture as a meaning system which members use to interpret the world around them. Culture

Culture: Culture refers to values, languages, symbols, norms, beliefs, expectations that members of a group possess and the good things they produce and use in their life. Culture is the thing that all the members of a group or society follow.

Culture by definition is the identity or feeling of belonging to a group. It is part of a person's self-conception and self-perception and is related to nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, locality or any type of social group that has its own distinct culture. To me that definition couldn't be more spot on but let's go more in depth over the past few months in my English class we have been trying to learn what our culture is and what part culture plays in our daily lives so in this essay I will be sharing with you what I think culture is what it means to me and how I think it impacts our way of living and the way we look at each other as human beings and how we treat each other and how all this makes up my culture

Through the pillaging of indigenous land, discriminatory land allocation practices, violent military presence, and objectification of Algerian women, the Algerian colonial experience was one of constant brutality. The result of such merciless colonial tactics was the rise in extremism, poor literacy rates, as well as unstable leadership. Having an understanding of colonial Algeria and its legacies is vital to comprehending contemporary Algeria due to the fact that numerous issues present in modern day Algeria are deeply rooted in its colonial past. The role of colonialism in Algeria should not be understated and studying the history of a former colony is key to being aware on how the past continues to shape and have a strong hold on

In light of the presentation on the environment and the boundaries of modernity in Algeria by Professor Brock Cutler, it is apparent from the presentation on the conditions of 1860s Algeria that the prospects of modernity and civilized society are limited by definitions of more imperialist authorities. During the presentation, Professor Cutler mentioned how Algeria had undergone a series of calamitous events such as droughts, locust swarms, cholera outbreaks, and poverty in the 1860s. These events reduced much of the Algerian population to destitute migrants, which caused civilizations such as the French to view them as a culture of beggars that threatened their ways of life and standards for modern civilization. Professor Cutler further elaborated using the situation of a specific court case involving an Algerian crossdresser who was raised and identified

In 1956, Morocco emerged as independent from one of the many colonizers at the time, France. Those who were to lead the transition from colony to independent monarchy had two problems. First, France officially recognized Morocco as an independent sovereign state but insisted on guiding the creation of the new state (Balfaraj, para. 5-7). Second, as the case with its neighbour Algeria, France had annexed its colonies in North Africa and redefined them as French in culture, tradition and territory. In doing so, it declared a war on native culture and traditions (Hannoum, pp. 7-11). Hence, how was Morocco going to regain its native culture and what form would the newly independent Morocco culturally assume? Political theorists such as Anderson argued that nations will form when a national public consciousness arises. Others, like Habermas, theorised that nations would regain identity when the public and private spheres merge and, as per Andreson, when both spheres, melded into one, reimagine and actualise their pre-colonial national identity and ultimately emerge as a united construct. While both theories try to imagine, and define post-colonial national identity, female writers such as Assisa Djeba from Algeria, Souad Guellouz from Tunisia and Leila Abouzeid from Morocco immediately slipped into their culture, language, traditions and nationhood. Despite the utterly cruel cultural, linguistic and national suppression they faced under the French, none of the elements which

They felt that it was part of the national identity and that without it France would not truly be itself. This strong identity of a French Algeria changed over the course of the war however, and eventually more and more French citizens were for the independence of Algeria and only a few number of the pied noirs and military elite held the idea that Algeria should remain part of France. It was this shift in the mentality of the French populous that influenced the French government, led by President Charles De Gaulle, to end the war and to grant Algeria its independence. To analyze this shift in French identity, the history of the colony needs to be understood along with the events of the war to be able to justify that the French people indeed has a change in their

The Moroccan identity has faced a several challenges and seditions throughout history, which rebuilt and traced the shape of modern Moroccan identity. Undoubtedly, the French colonialism is one of the most threat of Moroccan identity. They tried hard to separate Morocco into two entities to serve their colonial ambitions, in addition to the economic reasons and the exploitation of wealth, the French colonial intention was blurring Moroccan identity. However, Stuart Hall distinguished between two kinds of cultural identities, which we adapt to the Moroccan case.

A country’s national culture dictates almost everything that is done on a daily basis within that specific country. Everything from the way people eat, the way they speak and the holidays they celebrate are all dictated by these established beliefs and traditions. Culture can be described as “the characteristic way of behaving and believing, that a group of people have developed over time and share in common” (Tarique). This can be easily

Algeria was not always been independent and has been a part of several border and authority changes. Since its independency, Algeria has struggled to define its cultural identity. Several strategies have been employed to gain ground on its identity, such as promoting a policy of Arabization, loosening up the economy, and opening their political sphere. “Today the Algerian government seeks not only to sustain the recent ebb in violence and insecurity but also to promote greater unity within the country” (Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, 2011).

The definition of culture offered in one textbook is “That complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man person as a member of society.”

Several factors have been responsible for the complexity reflected in today’s linguistic situation in Algeria, some being historical, others political and still others socio-cultural. It is undeniable that, as a consequence of the diverse events that the country has gone through, the Algerian society has acquired a distinctive identity whose particular dynamic intra-and inter-lingual variation can clearly be attested in the way(s) people speak in comparison with the two countries, morocco and Tunisia (these latter are said to have lived through quite similar episodes, but for more shorter periods). Indeed, colonised for more than 130 years (1830-1962), Algeria was considered by the French government as a province of France which never be