Degrees:
Ph.D., Yale Univ.
M.A., Yale Univ.
Magistere, Univ. of Algiers
License diploma, Univ. of Algiers
Walid Bouchakour is a critic of contemporary North African literature who works at the intersection of Cultural Studies, Aesthetics, and Politics. In his research, he investigates literary and artistic responses to political tensions around decolonization and civil war, exploring the politics of form and the evolution of Maghrebi literature. Thanks to his background in journalism, he contextualizes literature within broader cultural and social frameworks, bridging Francophone works with Arabic and Amazigh literature through close readings and archival investigation.
Passionate about teaching, Walid emphasizes discussion, critical thinking, and a nuanced appreciation of language, form, and cultural history in his literature and language courses. He introduces students to a variety of approaches including postcolonial and decolonial studies, global south studies, Marxist literary theory, and avant-garde studies. Above all, he is enthusiastic about communicating the pleasure of texts and engaging students in meaningful conversations.
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North African Literature
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Francophone Studies
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Arabic Studies
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Amazigh Studies
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Postcolonial Studies
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Literature and state of emergency in contemporary Algerian Literature
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Francophonie and Multilingualism
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Literature and National Narratives
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Internationalist imaginaries in North Africa
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Maghrebi Crime fiction in the context of economic liberalization
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Avant-garde movements from the Global South
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Publications and Presentations:
- “De Zarta au Chkoupisme : le droit à l’opacité chez Mustapha Benfodil.” Études Francophones, Peripheries and confluences, Summer 2024.
- “Wail Against the Colonial Fait Divers: Ait Djafer’s Poetic Revolt.” The American Comparative Literature Association Annual Conference: “From Fait Divers to ‘Fake News’: Fictions of Race Between Mass Media and Literature,” Montréal, March 2024.
- “Francophonie and Its Discontents: From Exile to Hybridization.” 20th & 21st-Century French & Francophone Studies International Colloquium: Language, Loss and Artistic Creation, Philadelphia, PA, February 2024.
- “Perspectives maghrébines sur l’internationalisme : un situationniste à Alger en 1965.” American Institute for Maghrib Studies: Workshop “Intellectual Histories of Decolonization in the Maghrib”, Tunis, December 2023.
- “Imaginer Djaout souriant : Aspects de la réception de l'œuvre et du parcours.” Expressions Maghrébines vol. 17, n. 1, Summer 2018.
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- The Translation Initiative Summer Fellowship for Graduate Students, Yale MacMillan Center, 2023.
- The Yale Graduate Impact Fellowship, Yale University, 2021, 2022.
- The Teaching Innovation Project Grant, Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, 2021.
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