When Albert Memmi was born at the edge of the Jewish ghetto of Tunis in December 1920, Tunisia had been a French protectorate since 1881. As a member of an indigenous group, Memmi was considered a colonial subject; as a Jew, however, opportunities for French education through the Alliance Israélite Universelle (a colonial school system run by Jewish-French interests) and the possibility of French citizenship set him apart from his Muslim compatriots. Memmi was awarded a scholarship to the Alliance grade school and, later, to the prestigious Lycée Carnot in Tunis (1932-1939). At Carnot, Memmi was greatly influenced by his teachers Jean Amrouche and Aimé Patri, and decided to dedicate his life to the study of …
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Citation: Brozgal, Lia. "Albert Memmi". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 June 2008; last revised 03 February 2023. [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=11860, accessed 19 April 2024.]
