“Génération ça va pas”: an examination of French Algerian youth (2005 – 2024)

Mitchell, Celine (2024) “Génération ça va pas”: an examination of French Algerian youth (2005 – 2024). PhD thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science.

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Abstract

This thesis constitutes the first comprehensive examination of the lives of young French Algerians in the twenty-first century through the lens of hip-hop, with a particular focus on the second and third generations whose influence has indelibly shaped France’s evolving multicultural identity. As the country’s largest ethnic minority group, their experiences are integral to the broader narrative of immigration, integration and national identity. Focusing on the period from 2005 to the present day, this research takes a multi-modal approach, drawing on a custom-built database featuring over 160 hip-hop artists, 1,800 song lyrics and 30 interviews. By using hip-hop music as a research framework, alongside ethnographic fieldwork in Paris and Marseille, this thesis offers new understandings about the social histories, inner emotional lives and modes of expression of French Algerians, particularly young men from marginalised urban environments. The study reveals how hip-hop serves as a powerful medium through which they have articulated their identities, resisted dominant historical narratives and responded to socio-political challenges. Through the extensive analysis of song lyrics, music videos and oral histories, it critically examines the most dominant themes within French Algerian hip-hop, notably poverty, violence, criminality, colonialism, immigration, cultural identity and religion. By positioning hip-hop as an important historical archive, this study illuminates how French Algerian artists have used their music to assert their agency as cultural producers, providing crucial insights into banlieue spaces and presenting alternative perspectives on their position as immigrants in France. This methodological approach not only deepens our understanding of the Algerian diaspora in France, but also challenges essentialist views of French Muslims, ultimately contributing to a more nuanced understanding of their inner emotional lives and experiences in contemporary France.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Additional Information:	© 2024 Celine Mitchell
Library of Congress subject classification:	D History General and Old World > DC France H Social Sciences > HM Sociology H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman M Music and Books on Music > ML Literature of music
Sets:	Departments > International History
Supervisor:	Lewis, Joanna
URI:	http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/4832

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