The Experience and Practice of Hogra in Algeria: Feudalism, State Militarism, and Post-Colonial Figures of Humiliation.

Hogra is an Arabic term commonly used to describe daily social experiences of humiliation. Using the Grounded Theory Method and a socio-historical approach, this research studies the significance, scope, and various dimensions of humiliation. Using original archival, written, and oral sources, it shows continuities in colonial and post-colonial governance. The Literature Review and Chapter 1 present existing literature on humiliation as a complex and impactful psychosocial phenomenon that is understudied within post-colonial studies and sociology in Algeria. Chapter 2 and 3 draw from colonial lexicon and narratives contained in the indigenous press under French Rule to explore the word’s significance. It examines the correlations between humiliation and the introduction of elements of French feudalism in Algeria that structured land tenure and land dispossession and imposed practises of modern servitude under the Code de l’Indigénat (1875-1946). The phenomenon of humiliation is then analysed through the lens of the colonial trauma daily violations of human dignity generated, revealing the multidimensionality of this phenomenon as a punitive, normative, and traumagenic experience. Chapter 4 weaves together autobiographical memories, contemporary journalistic excerpts, and constitutional documents to reveal continuities in the practice of humiliation after the independence (1962-1988). It unearths the connections between state militarism, colonial representations, and citizen’s post-independence subjugation. Overall, the research reveals how hogra is the bridge that insures the continuum between colonial genocidal violence and postcolonial violence. The study generates new knowledge on systemic humiliation, its sources, and effects over time. It highlights how colonial and postcolonial forms of state and societal violence concretely impact the definition and expression of citizenship and norms. It then proposes new parameters for an effective decolonization of post-independence institutions, epistemologies, and practices in Algeria.