Questions of language and translation were a lively topic; the move away from the French language at a national scale in Algeria, part of the long-term legacy of the relation of Algeria to the former colonial regime, informed discussion of the role of language in shaping literary and other cultures, as well as questions of ‘untranslatability’.
Professor Nicholas Harrison, Professor of French and Postcolonial Studies
12 June 2025
Departments initiate new research collaboration with Algerian universities
Academics from King’s participated in a collective enterprise with the University of Blida 2 in Algeria on research and teaching in African and Caribbean literatures, with the promise of future collaborations.
Academics from the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, the Department of English and the University of Cambridge visited Blida as part of a research and training week for staff and students on ‘Comparative Perspectives on African Literatures: Texts, Tendencies, Methodologies’.
During their visit, the group were hosted for a five-day international conference-workshop by Blida’s Faculty of Literatures and Languages. The conference took place largely across three languages – English, French and Arabic.
The project was led at King's by Professor Nicholas Harrison, Professor of French and Postcolonial Studies, with Dr Sura Qadiri and Professor Hugo Azérad from the University of Cambridge, Professor Maya Boutaghou from the University of Virginia, and Dr Safa Ouled–Haddar, the Vice-Rector for International Relations at Blida 2 University.
Other King’s academics who presented at the conference are PhD student Annabel Ali, Dr Anna Bernard, Dr Esther de Bruijn, Professor Patrick ffrench, and Dr Justine McConnell.
In short, this was a fantastic opportunity and a life-changing adventure. The reality of Algeria was radically different from what we imagined, and we are privileged to have been able to learn from the experience intellectually, culturally and humanly from the generosity of our Algerian hosts.
Professor Patrick ffrench, Professor of French
Literature across languages
Conference sessions by the King’s cohort examined topics including Afrofuturism, Ghanaian market fiction, Fanon and psychiatry, and the pioneering Algerian writer Mouloud Feraoun. Presentations explored themes of translation and untranslatability; postcolonial adaptation; postcolonial and critical race theory; decolonising literature; and global literatures.
Annabel Ali led a session on ‘British civilisation’, which offered perspectives on the multiplicity and plasticity of the idea of ‘British’ through group work on Benjamin Zephaniah’s poem ‘London Breed’.
Professor Harrison was also interviewed on Algerian national TV at the opening of the conference.
Colleagues at Blida 2 and throughout Algeria are keen to work with universities in the UK across a wide range of academic subjects. Hamza Koudri, Country Director of the British Council in Algeria, met with the academic team and hopes to facilitate further collaboration, either through the Visiting Research Student scheme or formal exchanges of staff and students.
The visiting academics were also treated to guided tours of the Ecole Supérieure des Beaux Arts and the National Museum of the Moudjahid, as well as visits to the Botanical Garden in Algiers and the Roman ruins at Tipasa.
In this story
PhD student in French
Reader in Comparative Literature and English
Lecturer in African Literature
Professor of French
Professor of French and Postcolonial Studies
Reader in Comparative Literature and Classical Reception