Crispin Collins "Not All Barbarians are Created Equal: Tocqueville's Attitudes Towards Native Culture"
Why and How I Came to this Topic:
Based on a general interest in minorities and subjugate people throughout our modern world, I became interested in the subjugated people of the past--especially indigenous peoples. The attitudes of the colonizers were usually dismissive with a basic sense of innate superiority. However, after being turned on to the writings of Alexis de Tocqueville in a French Revolution class my Sophomore year, I learned that he had a much complicated view of indigenous and other subjugated peoples. His views are often described by scholars simply as "complicated" or even "conflicted." I wanted to explain the complexity of his views and prove they were consistent.
Travel and Funding I Have Done/Received:
McNair Scholars
Sources:
- Alexis de Tocqueville's two letters on Algeria, two reports on Algeria, and essay on Algeria.
- Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America
- A report from the Archives Parlementaire
- A collection of speeches from General Bugeaud
- French News Paper Articles