Latifa Ben Mansour ( ar, لطيفة بن منصور) (born 1950 in

Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ar, تلمسان, translit=Tilimsān) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran, and capital of the Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the p ...

) is an Algerian writer, psychoanalyst, and linguist. Her work deals with issues such as the role of women in Algerian society,

Islamic extremism Islamic extremism, Islamist extremism, or radical Islam, is used in reference to extremist beliefs and behaviors which are associated with the Islamic religion. These are controversial terms with varying definitions, ranging from academic un ...

, storytelling, trauma, and memory.

Biography

Having studied Linguistics at the École Normale Supérieure d'Alger, where she obtained her Ph.D. in the subject, Ben Mansour went on to teach it at the University of Paris III and

communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

at the

Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

. She received the ''Prix méditerranéen de la nouvell''e in 1996 for her short story "Le Cocu Cadi". Her novel, ''La Prière de la peur'', 1997 (ed. La Différence) has been awarded the ''Prix Beur FM Méditerranée''.

Specific works

Latifa Ben Mansour's novel ''La Prière de la peur'' tells the story of Hanan, a young woman returning to her family in Algeria after living several years in France. When her plane lands, the airport is attacked by extremists and Hanan is wounded. Her legs must be amputated and she suffers from trauma associated with the attack. The novel centers around her account of her life and works and her close friendship with her cousin, also named Hanan. ''Le Chant du lys et du basilic'' is about a young girl named Meriem who is injured in a mysterious accident. While in the hospital listening to her family around her but unable to respond, Meriem recalls the major events in her life leading up to the accident in an effort to remember what happened. The novel explores the lives of women in contemporary Algeria, giving attention to issues such as the education of girls.

Complete bibliography

* ''Trente-trois Tours à son Turban'' (play, Rencontres Théâtrales du Niger, Mar 2003, directed by Boubacar Ibrahim Dambagi) * ''Frères musulmans, frères féroces: Voyages dans l'enfer du discours islamiste'' (non-fiction, 2002) * ''L'Année de l'Eclipse'' (novel, Calmann-Lévy, 2001) * ''La Prière de la Peur'' (novel, La Différence, 1997) * ''Le Chant du Lys et du Basilic'' (novel, J.-C. Lattès, 1990, 2nd edition by La Différence in 1998) * ''Trente-trois Tours à son Turban'' (play, Actes-Sud-Papiers)

Critical articles

* Jane E. Evans. 2006. "Widowhood, Motherhood, Selfhood in Latifa Ben Mansour's L'année de l'éclipse" The Selected Works of Jane E. Evans. Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jane_evans/14 * Mertz-Baumgartner, B. (2001) ‘Le rôle de la mémoire chez quelques écrivaines algériennes de l'autre rive’ In Bonn, C., Redouane, N. and Bénayoun-Szmidt, Y. (Eds.) Algérie: Nouvelles Écritures. Colloque international de l'Université York, Glendon, et de l'Université de Toronto 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 Mai 1999 Paris: L'Harmattan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ben Mansour, Latifa Algerian writers 1950 births Living people People from Tlemcen Sorbonne Nouvelle University Paris 3 faculty Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite Algerian women writers 21st-century Algerian people