After you read these selections, think about the theories of class, stratification and power discussed by Collins. Then work on answering these questions:
- Both Memmi and Fanon draw categorical distinctions between the colonizer and colonized. Memmi focuses on the colonizer’s perceptions and beliefs regarding the colonized. Which conflict theories within the Marxist and Weberian traditions do you think might help to explain the situation as Memmi presents it?
- Fanon (the assigned reading for the second week) offers a more detailed analysis of the colonial context. Who are the principal social actors he identifies, and which conflict theories do you think are most apt for understanding their actions and ideas?
