Albert Camus' Social, Cultural and Political Migrations

In his article “Albert Camus’ social, cultural and political migrations,” Benaouda LEBDAI analyses Albert Camus’ posthumous autofiction The First man, a fascinating self-representation and self -telling. Found after his deadly car accident, the manuscript adds a tragic dimension to the disguised autobiography. This paper demonstrates Camus’ capacity to migrate from one world to another, looks into the reasons behind such attitudes and stresses the significance of an outstanding life account within the on-going debate between France and Algeria about his political stands during colonial Algeria. His vision of the indigenous people, the Algerians, and of the future of colonial Algeria, is addressed in terms of cultural and political memory. The First Man is revisited to understand his psychological and social migrations, which reveal a deep trauma. In fine, this analysis focuses on a colonial time and the exclusive relation between Algeria and France, from a cultural and political viewpoint, and it ponders on the significance of ‘life Writing’ through ‘self-representation’ with its impact on a meaningful comprehension of History, culture and social memory.