Tunisian women's writing in French : The fight for emancipation from Ben Ali's rise to power to the eve of the Tunisian Revolution, 1987-2011 / Sonia Alba.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 182-203) and index.

Introduction - The "Arab world" and the perserverance of stereotypes -- Tunisia: overview -- Why literature and why women's literature? -- On language -- On exile -- On counterpublic theory -- Authorial intention and the defence of anonymity -- Shame and punishment in the autobiographical novel la retournée by Fawzia Zouari and in the novel Leïla ou la femme de l'aube by Sonia Chamkhi -- Biographical information, synopsis of texts and narrative voices -- The protagonists' "retournement" shame 55 -- The protagonists' "retournement" punishment -- The contribution to a subaltern counterpublic in Tunisia by Zouari and Chamkhi -- Not literature, only "almost" literature: essay writing in Une force qui demeure by Hélé Béji and in Les arabes, les femmes, la liberté by Sophie Bessis -- Unsettling the modernity vs. tradition debate -- The challenging of persistent traditional gender norms by Béji and Bessis -- The contribution to a subaltern counterpublic in Tunisia by Béji and Bessis -- The personal is political: old adage, new media. blog writing in a Tunisian girl by Lina ben Mhenni and in Nadia from Tunis by "Nadia"-- Definition of genre: the blog or modern day diary -- The intimate dimension of blog writing -- The political dimension of blog writing -- The contribution to a subaltern counterpublic in Tunisia by Ben Mhenni and Nadia -- Conclusion.