Overview
Frantz Fanon (1925–1961) was a Martinican psychiatrist and anti-colonial theorist who practiced in Algeria and joined the FLN. Black Skin, White Masks analyzes the psychic effects of antiblack racism; The Wretched of the Earth theorizes decolonization, violence, and national culture.
Main ideas
He refuses imprisonment in racial history while diagnosing colonial alienation; the black and white man as fixed essences ‘are not.’ Each generation must discover its mission; national consciousness (not nationalism) opens an international dimension. His closing prayer asks the body to remain a questioning subject.
Major works
- Black Skin, White Masks
- The Wretched of the Earth
- A Dying Colonialism
Legacy
Fanon remains a touchstone for Africana philosophy, postcolonial theory, and debates on recognition, violence, and political humanism.
Themes in this archive
Freedom (2) · Otherness (2) · Politics (2) · Self (1) · Responsibility (1)