Published on Wednesday, March 05, 2025
Abstract
This workshop explores the intimate effects of the educational experience of dignitaries exiled to Reunion Island at the dawn of the 20th century. Experimenting seclusion, their exile was also a time of publicizing their words, with the publication of memoirs and press articles. The aim is to see how these prison worlds, which were on the increase during the colonial period, helped shape the bodies and souls of the inmates. Focusing on the writings of exiled dignitaries, this workshop seeks to probe the intimate changes that these new scholastic knowledges operate in terms of sociability, relationship to self and others, in a context of resistance to French occupation.
Announcement
Prison Worlds and Private Writings of Dignitaries in Exile on Reunion Island - September 26, 2025 Saint-Deni
Argument
From the Indochinese peninsula to North Africa, via Madagascar and the Comoros archipelago, the exile of heads of state to Reunion Island was a passageway for the colonial conquest of African and Asian territories at the dawn of the 20th century. All of them experienced similar conditions of confinement: a period of confinement punctuated by controlled leisure time, and summary living conditions for an original form of seclusion, to say the least. Men and women were housed with their relatives, servants and quickly became part of Bourbon Island's “court society”, uniting wealthy merchants and government officials. They included Abdelkrim, politician and President of the Rif Republic, Sultan Saïd Ali Saïd Omar of Grande Comore, Emperor Vinh San and Madagascan Queen Ravalonana III.
A place of seclusion, conducive to the writing of correspondence and memoirs, these “golden prisons” under surveillance invite us to rethink the ways in which political prisoners were held when African and Asian kingdoms buckled under the weight of colonial powers. Referred to by the French authorities as a “place of internment”, Reunion Island appears to be one of the Indian Ocean's prime locations for locking up rebellious opponents.
However, it is in these places where speech is muzzled that these enemies of the interior publicize their thoughts, putting down on paper their feats of arms and vision of the future. From resisting the French occupation in their home countries, some of them are gradually pledging their allegiance to France. This reversal of their past position raises questions about the intellectual path taken by dignitaries in exile, and the educational effects of the French school in which they were introduced to new precepts, cultural and social models. It is on these intimate changes and the educational effects of the literate elite that this workshop seeks to reflect, based on the publicization of the words of these exiled dignitaries. Papers will focus on the analysis of private writings (memoirs, correspondence), as well as publications (books, articles) and, sometimes, speeches (radio appearances, speeches) by these personalities and their entourage.
It is as a prison environment that these places will be examined by social science researchers. The aim is to see how these prison environments, which were on the increase during the colonial period, contribute to shaping the bodies and souls of inmates.
More broadly, this workshop will explore the intimate effects of the educational experience of men and women in the Indian Ocean in a colonial context. The study of the intimate - considered in its materiality, through “signs”, “traces” and “indices” (Ginzburg, 1980) - provides an opportunity to put into perspective the processes of individuation and social change at work over the long 19th-20th century, in a context marked by the weakness of French school education.
Focus 1: Educational effects of writing in exile: between allegiance and resistance to France
Dignitaries' exile was a place of experimentation and reclusion, and a place of multiple learning. Educated from their earliest childhood, often bilingual or even multilingual, exiled heads of state and dignitaries had in common a hybrid schooling within several educational systems. The study of their writings seeks to probe the intimate changes that this new school knowledge brings about in terms of sociability and relationships with oneself and others, in a context of resistance to the French occupation.
Focus 2: Genesis of a “courtly society”: diversion and entertainment
Between seclusion and guarded sociability, their stay was the scene of encounters and exchanges between dignitaries and the local population, sometimes hostile or, on the contrary, eager for novelty. The aim of this axis is to reflect on the circumstances of encounters, the perception of the Other, and the representations and imaginaries in circulation. In the context of Bourbon Island's “court society”, what place do these dignitaries occupy and what links do they forge? What kind of social circles did they inhabit?
Axis 3: “Supervise and punish” in places of internment
Despite prisoners' relative freedom of movement, active surveillance was put in place to control these potential enemies of the Republic. The aim of this research is to detail the restrictions, punitive and control measures taken by the administration through letters, reports and intelligence notes. What strategy did the French government develop to stifle the voices of their opponents? What exercise of authoritarian and non-authoritarian coercion is evident in the treatment of these very singular prisoners? Finally, what commonalities can be identified with other areas of internment (psychiatric facilities, hospitals)?
Submission guidelines
Proposals for papers of one page maximum, accompanied by a short biography and bibliography, should be sent to the following address: mamaye.idriss@univ-mayotte.fr,
by April 15, 2025.
A reply will be sent in May.
Written versions of papers (maximum 35,000 characters) should be sent by the end August.
Workshop organized by
- Mamaye Idriss (University of Mayotte and Reunion, Icare)
- Gwenaël Murphy (University of Réunion, OIES)
Scientific Comity
- Rebecca Rogers, University of Paris Descartes, Cerlis
- Pierre Guidi, IRD, Ceped
- Myriam Paris, CNRS, Curapp
Subjects
- Modern (Main category)
- Society > Political studies > Political science
- Periods > Modern > Nineteenth century
- Periods > Modern > Twentieth century
- Zones and regions > Africa > Sub-Saharan Africa > East Africa
- Society > Political studies > Political history
- Society > History > Social history
Places
- Bibliothèque départementale de Saint-Denis, salle de séminaire - 52, rue Roland Garros
Saint-Denis, Réunion (97400)
Event attendance modalities
Full on-site event
Date(s)
- Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Attached files
Keywords
- exil, éducation, intimité, colonisation, écrits du for privé
Contact(s)
- Gwénaël MURPHY
courriel : gwenael [dot] murphy [at] univ-reunion [dot] fr
Information source
- Mamaye IDRISS
courriel : mamaye [dot] idriss [at] univ-mayotte [dot] fr
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons - Attribution 4.0 International - CC BY 4.0 .
To cite this announcement
Mamaye Idriss, Gwénaël Murphy, « Univers carcéraux et écrits du for privé de dignitaires en exil à La Réunion », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Wednesday, March 05, 2025, https://doi.org/10.58079/13f2a
