The French Conundrum: The Unsettled Relationship between the Colonial Past, Identity Construction, and Immigration in the Musée National de l’Histoire de l’Immigration

<p>This paper focuses on the intersection of identity, the colonial past, and immigration in France through the lens of the Musée National de l’Histoire de l’Immigration. The museum, which opened in 2007 and is currently redesigning its permanent exhibition, has struggled to come to terms with France’s colonial past, a defining aspect of the museum as a result of its location and theme. This paper argues that the museum functions as a microcosm of France’s difficulty to address its colonial past while still maintaining its current national identity construction. Thus, this paper explores how the Immigration Museum is and has attempted to address the conundrum of two conflicting aspects, the colonial past and the construction of national identity, through colonial memory, the colonial roots of the building itself, and the political rhetoric of state leaders during key moments of the museum’s history. In addition, this paper explores how the museum is moving forward to address its colonial past in the context of contemporary events and movements concerning systemic racism, Islamophobia, and immigration. In doing so, the paper engages with contemporary questions about the construction of identity, systemic racism and xenophobia in France, and the role of state sponsored institutions in recontextualizing national identity paradigms.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

History, MA

Level thesis:degree_level

Open Access Master's Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

School of Arts and Humanities

Year dc:date.available

2022

Author dc:creator

• Newby-Smith, Sierra Ruby

Contributors dc:contributor

• Carolyn Brucken

• Colonial Past
• France
• Immigration
• Museum
• National Identity
• History
• Museum Studies

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/380

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarship.claremont.edu:cgu_etd-1439