Public Lecture on a Global Micro-History

On Thursday 19 March, Prof. Johanna Siméant-Germanos, École normale supérieure, Paris, gave a public lecture, entitled “I have always tried to assert my rights”: A global micro-history of borders, activist life, and violence (France, Tunisia and Sweden, 1970s-today). Based on her new book Youssef ou la fidélité à soi: Une enquête sur l’engagement, la violence et l’exil (Anamos, 2026), she narrated the fascinating and moving story about Youssef, a Tunisian national, who, being first victim of police brutality in France, and then of torture in Tunisa, finally received political asylum in Sweden. The lecture furthermore contributed substantially to methodological reflections in terms of auto-ethnography. Some 30 people attended the lecture that was organized by the Forum for Africa Studies.

On the book:
In late 1978, Youssef Sassi was stopped by police in Marseille. He was severely beaten at the station. Despite protests, he was deported to Tunisia, where he was tortured, before being granted political asylum in Sweden. Johanna Siméant-Germanos was nine years old in late 1978; from this childhood memory, the political scientist has crafted a compelling and personal investigation into activism, violence, and exile.