Date: Sat, 30 May 1998 16:57:19 -0600 (MDT)
From: Lahoucine Ouzgane <Lahoucine.Ouzgane-AT-ualberta.ca>
Subject: Evelyne Accad


Evelyne Accad is of Lebanese origin. 
---

On Sat, 30 May 1998, Zachary Polsky wrote:

> Christina,
> 
> There is an excellent French novel entitled "l'Excisee" by Evelyne Accad.
> Accad is of Algerian origin, if I am not mistaken, and discusses the
> influence of feminine circumcision, or "excision," in Algeria and the rest
> of North Africa. I assume that some translations of the book exist.
> 
> As for my thoughts on the matter, I defer to the French supreme court,
> which some years ago determined that feminine circumcision is an act of
> mutilation which does not deserve the same protected status as other
> cultural rituals. The decision was made in reponse to a case in which a
> man with no medical expertise or training in performing feminine
> circumcision tried to circumcise his two-year old daughter, who died as a
> result of the operation.
> 
> One might ask: Why should anyone listen to the French supreme court, for
> there is nary a more (neo-)colonialist instituion on the face of this
> earth? True, but Accad, an Algerian woman "immigree," sides with it. One
> might further ask: Why should anyone listen to a francophone Algerian
> whose point of view is highly likley to be skewed by her intense contact
> with the West? That is what one has to read the book to decide...
> 
> Hope this helps,
> 
> Zachary Polsky
> Department of French and Italian
> University of California, Davis
> 
> On Sat, 30 May 1998, Cristina Jo Thaut wrote:
> 
> > Does anyone know of any useful texts or articles which discuss female
> > genital mutilation or female circumcision in Muslim nations/states?
> > 
> > My summer project is to write a research paper on FGM.  I am in an English
> > graduate program, but the paper is for a graduate level political science
> > class. If anyone has any ideas about how to approach this topic from a poli
> > sci point of view, I would be interested!  
> > 
> > I thought possibly a rather conventional approach exploring "universal"
> > attitudes versus cultural relativistic attitudes.  (no real thesis yet)
> > 
> > If anyone feels like exploring this topic further, I would be interested in
> > your thoughts.
> > 
> > Thanks, Cristi 
> > University of NE, Lincoln
> > 
> > 
> > 
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> > 
> 
> 
> 
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> 



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