Abstract
This chapter explores the politics and poetics of automobiles in Colonial and Postcolonial France. It considers the resurgence of automobility in recent representations of French colonization, in movies and literature, and in the remembrance of the colonies in the history of the French automobile. The conclusion unpacks a “cargo of colonial automobilities” that still fuels France’s relationship with its former colonies. Between France and Indochina, it was not only people and goods which circulated on roads and in automobiles, but also texts, images, and desires. Through narratives, automobility entered the French imaginary. This work of imagination informs contemporary thinking on colonization, facilitating unequal and literal forms of mobility in former French colonies, while precariously settling peace with a troubling past at home.
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Ponsavady, S. (2018). Conclusion: Driving Metaphors and Myths. In: Cultural and Literary Representations of the Automobile in French Indochina. Studies in Mobilities, Literature, and Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94559-0_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94559-0_7
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