Mission civilisatrice
Dublin Core
Title
Mission civilisatrice
Description
Mission civilisatrice, or the civilizing mission, refers to French discourse justifying colonial expansion through bringing modernity, civilization, and enlightenment to the others, the colonized: "the French believed that if properly taught French values and the French language, Algerians and Vietnamese alike would slowly evolve and become French" (Encyclopedia.com n.d.).
During the 1920s, this type of discourse was validated by France to other empires, especially Britain, through the Colonial Expositions in Paris (Fig. 1). Through these expositions, the French made claims to the exoticized wonders of the Oriental (cf. Said 1978) as their possessions and thus their superiority over the colonized subjects (Morton 2000).
Following this ideal in Indochina, the French Third Republic built different types of buildings with different purposes that focus on transmitting cultures. For example, academic institutions such as École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO; The French School of the Far East) (Fig. 2) studying Khmer and Champa cultures or École des Beaux-Arts de l’Indochine (The Indochina College of Fine Arts).
References:
Encyclopedia.com. n.d. "Mission Civilisatrice ." Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. Last modified April 25, 2022 (19 May 2022).
Morton, Patricia A. 2000. Hybrid Modernities: Representation and Architecture at 1931 International Colonial Exposition in Paris. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Said, Edward. 1978. Orientalism. New York City: Pantheon Books.
During the 1920s, this type of discourse was validated by France to other empires, especially Britain, through the Colonial Expositions in Paris (Fig. 1). Through these expositions, the French made claims to the exoticized wonders of the Oriental (cf. Said 1978) as their possessions and thus their superiority over the colonized subjects (Morton 2000).
Following this ideal in Indochina, the French Third Republic built different types of buildings with different purposes that focus on transmitting cultures. For example, academic institutions such as École française d'Extrême-Orient (EFEO; The French School of the Far East) (Fig. 2) studying Khmer and Champa cultures or École des Beaux-Arts de l’Indochine (The Indochina College of Fine Arts).
References:
Encyclopedia.com. n.d. "Mission Civilisatrice ." Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa. Last modified April 25, 2022 (19 May 2022).
Morton, Patricia A. 2000. Hybrid Modernities: Representation and Architecture at 1931 International Colonial Exposition in Paris. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Said, Edward. 1978. Orientalism. New York City: Pantheon Books.
Creator
Phan Thi Minh Anh
Citation
Phan Thi Minh Anh, “Mission civilisatrice,” Augustus in Saigon!?, accessed May 19, 2024, https://augustusinsaigon.uni-trier.de/items/show/220.