Postcolonial Theory Texts - The Wretched of the Earth by Frantz Fanon (1961)

This book is like the primer on anti-colonialism and decolonization. It covers the effects of colonialism on the mental health of the colonized, the use of language as a tool of oppression, and—most important—the need for a (violent) revolution against the colonial, ruling class. Looking for some light, cheery reading? Um, keep looking.

People often view Sartre's preface to Fanon's book as a literal call to arms, a support of revolutionary violence as a means of righting colonialist wrongs. Is that a fair interpretation of Fanon's book? Or does Fanon offer other methods of resistance other than pure violence?

At the end of his chapter "'On National Culture,"' Fanon writes that "'the most urgent thing today for the intellectual is to build up his nation"' and that "'the building of a nation is of necessity accompanied by the discovery and encouragement of universalizing values."' How is Fanon's vision of nation-building different from the kind of nation-building colonial empires are known for? How is it similar?