The Colonial Harem Malek Alloula Translated by Myrna Godzich and Wlad Godzich Introduction by Barbara Harlow Table of Contents		$27.50 Paper ISBN: 0-8166-1384-2 ISBN-13: 978-0-8166-1384-7
A collection of picture postcards of Algerian women exploited by the French, this “album” illustrates a powerful analysis of the distorting, denigrating effects of their presence on Algerian Society. "Imprisoned by the photographers eye these women reclaim their historicity through the pages of this powerful book. The Colonial Harem deserves a central place in the growing literature of decolonization." —Village Voice "Alloula gathers up the impedimenta of empire in the form of (mainly) lewd French postcards of Algerian women which circulated between 1900 and 1930. By displaying and dissecting colonial pornography as an insider he brings into stark relief the violation of the patriarchal gaze at its harshest." —Women's Review of Books “A shocking photographic excursion into the European fascination with the harem.” —Whole Earth Review 136 pages | 90 photographs | 1986 Theory and History of Literature Series, volume 21 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction by Barbara Harlow 1. The Orient as Stereotype and Phantasm 2. Women from the Outside: Obstacle and Transparency 3. Women's Prisons 4. Women's Quarters 5. Couples 6. The Figures of the Harem: Dress and Jewelry 7. Inside the Harem: The Rituals 8. Song and Dance: Almehs and Bayaderes 9. Oriental Sapphism 10. The Colonial Harem: Images of a Suberoticism Notes Selected Bibliography