The Battle of Algiers (1966): From ‘Yesterday’s Mujahiddin’ to today’s Postcolonial Classroom

Screening and symposium devoted to this influential film. Morning session devoted to Islam in the film; afternoon to the film's music, place in the postcolonial classroom and its Orientalism.

Hosted by the Centre for World Cinemas and Digital Cultures (CWCDC) and the Iqbal Centre for the Study of Contemporary Islam.

The event is free and all are welcome (academics, postgraduate researchers and members of the public). However, space is limited for the afternoon session, so please sign up (afternoon session only) on the Eventbrite page

Times and venues

Morning session (screening and discussion) 09:30-13:00: Roger Stevens Lecture Theatre 14 (campus map) 

Afternoon Session (academic presentations and roundtable) 13:00-17:30: Leeds Humanities Research Institute (LHRI), 29-31 Clarendon Place (campus map)

Programme

Morning session: screening and discussion (Roger Stevens Lecture Theatre 14)

Participants are asked to read Nicholas Harrison’s article ‘Yesterday’s Mujahiddin: Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers’, in R. Weaver-Hightower and P. Hulme (eds), Postcolonial Film (London: Routledge, 2014), pp. 23-46. Download article

09:30   Introduction

09:45   Screening of new restoration of The Battle of Algiers (Cult Films 2018)

12:00   Discussion: Islam in The Battle of Algiers

Chair Dr Mustapha Sheikh (Co-director Iqbal Centre for the Study of Contemporary Islam, Leeds)

Discussants

Dr Fozia Bora (Lecturer in Middle Eastern History and Islamic History, Leeds)

Professor Nicholas Harrison (Professor of French and Postcolonial Studies, King’s College London)

Professor S Sayyid (Professor of Social Theory and Decolonial Thought, Leeds)

Afternoon session: academic presentations and roundtable (LHRI)

13:15   Buffet lunch (provided)

13:45   Introduction

14:00   Presentations

Chair Dr Tajul Islam (Co-director Iqbal Centre for the Study of Contemporary Islam, Leeds)

14:00  Presentation 1 Professor Alan O’Leary (Professor of Film and Cultural Studies, Leeds): ‘The Battle of Algiersand the Orientalist Tradition’

Respondent Angelos Koutsourakis (University Academic Fellow in World Cinema, Leeds)

14:45  Presentation 2 Dr Neelam Srivastava (Reader in Postcolonial and Comparative Literature, Newcastle): ‘The Battle of Algiers in the Postcolonial Classroom’

Respondent Beatrice Ivey (Postgraduate Researcher in French, Leeds)

15:30  Presentation 3 Dr Carl Vincent (Principal Lecturer of Classical Music, Leeds College of Music): ‘East and West: Music in The Battle of Algiers’

Respondent Claire McGinn (Postgraduate Researcher in Music, York)

16:15   Coffee break

16:30   Roundtable

Chair Dr Neelam Srivastava (Reader in Postcolonial and Comparative Literature, Newcastle)

Participants

Dr Laura Ager (Co-director/programmer, Leeds Film Fringe)

Professor Nicholas Harrison (Professor of French and Postcolonial Studies, King’s College London)

Professor John Mowitt (Leadership Chair in Critical Humanities, Leeds)

Professor S Sayyid (Professor of Social Theory and Decolonial Thought, Leeds)

17:30   End

This event has been generously supported by the School of Languages, Cultures and Societies (Leeds), and the Society for Italian Studies. 

The symposium is convened by Alan O'Leary in consultation with Neelam Srivastava and has been organised with the assistance of Rachel Johnson (Postgraduate Researcher, Leeds).