The Wretched of the Earth

Cover to the 2004 translation
Author	Frantz Fanon
Original title	Les Damnés de la Terre
Translator	Constance Farrington (1963) Richard Philcox (2004)
Language	French
Subject(s)	Offenses against the person France--Colonies--Africa Algeria--History--1945-1962
Publisher
Publication date	1961

The Wretched of the Earth (French: Les Damnés de la Terre, first published 1961) is Frantz Fanon's most famous work, written during and regarding the Algerian struggle for independence from colonial rule. As a psychiatrist, Fanon explored the psychological effect of colonisation on the psyche of a nation as well as its broader implications for building a movement for decolonization. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (439x648, 40 KB) Summary Cover of The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In general, the word colonial means of or relating to a colony. In United States history, the term Colonial is used to refer to the period before US independence. ... Colonialism in 1945 Decolonization refers to the achievement of independence by the various Western colonies and protectorates in Asia and Africa following World War II. This conforms with an intellectual movement known as Post-Colonialism. ...

A controversial introduction to the text by Jean-Paul Sartre presents the thesis as an advocacy of violence.^[1] This focus derives from the book’s opening chapter ‘Concerning Violence’ which is a caustic indictment of colonialism and its legacy. It discusses violence as a means of liberation and a catharsis to subjugation. It also details the violence of the colonialism as a process itself. The interpretation of the text as a promotion of violence is argued as a limited way of approaching the text fueled essentially by Sartre’s opening comments.^[2] Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (June 21, 1905 – April 15, 1980), normally known simply as Jean-Paul Sartre (pronounced: ), was a French existentialist philosopher and pioneer, dramatist and screenwriter, novelist and critic. ...

Further reading can find a thorough critique of nationalism and imperialism while also developing to cover areas such as mental health and the role of intellectuals in revolutionary situations. Fanon goes into great detail explaining that revolutionary groups should look to the lumpenproletariat for the force needed to expel colonists. The lumpenproletariat in traditional Marxist theories are considered the lowest, most degraded stratum of the proletariat, especially criminals, vagrants, and the unemployed, who lacked class consciousness. Fanon uses the term to refer to those inhabitants of colonized countries who are not involved in industrial production, particularly peasants living outside the cities. He argues that only this group, unlike the industrial proletariat, has sufficient independence from the colonists to successfully make a revolution against them. This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Mental health is a term used to describe either a level of cognitive or emotional wellbeing or an absence of mental illness. ... An intellectual is a person who uses his or her intellect to study, reflect, and speculate on a variety of different ideas. ... The storming of the Bastille, 14 July 1789 during the French Revolution. ... The lumpenproletariat (German Lumpenproletariat, rabble-proletariat; raggedy proletariat) is a term originally defined by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in The German Ideology (1845), their famous second joint work, and later expounded upon in future works by Marx. ... Marxism is the political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ... John Everett Millais The Blind Girl: vagrant musicians See also vagrancy (biology) for an alternative use of the term. ... Class consciousness is a category of Marxist theory, referring to the self-awareness of a social class, its capacity to act in its own rational interests, or measuring the extent to which an individual is conscious of the historical tasks their class (or class allegiance) sets for them. ... Categories: 1911 Britannica | Historical stubs | Feudalism ...

Also important is Fanon's view of the role of language and how it molds the position of "natives", or those victimized by colonization. Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth has become a handbook for any and all political leaders faced with any type of decolonization. It is still read in the Pentagon today as advice on dealing with the conflict in Iraq.^[3] There are two different English translations in publication, the most recent, by Richard Philcox, being better accepted. This article is about the United States military building. ...

The original title of the book is an allusion to the opening words of The Internationale. LInternationale in the original French. ...

Translations

• in Persian by Ali Shariati (1933-1977) ^[4]

• in Turkish by Lütfi Fevzi Topaçoğlu

Persian (Local names: فارسی Fârsi or پارسی Pârsi)* is an Indo-European language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan as well as by minorities in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, India, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... Dr. Ali Shariati (Persian: علی شريعتی‎) (1933–1977) was an Iranian sociologist, well known and respected for his works in the field of sociology of religion. ...

References