World War I gave colonial migrants and French women unprecedented access to the workplaces and nightlife of Paris. After the war they were expected to return without protest to their homes¿either overseas or metropolitan. Neither group, however, was willing to be discarded.

Between the world wars, the mesmerizing capital of France¿s colonial empire attracted denizens from Africa, the Caribbean, and the United States. Paris became not merely their home but also a site for political engagement. Colonial Metropolis tells the story of the interactions and connections of these black colonial migrants and white feminists in the social, cultural, and political world of interwar Paris. It explores why and how both were denied certain rights, such as the vote, how they suffered from sensationalist depictions in popular culture, and how they pursued parity in ways that were often interpreted as politically subversive.

Jennifer Anne Boittin is an associate professor of French, francophone studies, and history at Pennsylvania State University.

Introduction                                            

1. Josephine Baker: Colonial Woman                               

2. Dancing Dissidents and Dissident Dancers: The Urban Topography of Race                          

3. A Black Colony? Race and the Origins of Anti-Imperialism        

4. Reverse Exoticism and Masculinity: The Cultural Politics of Race Relations                         

5. In Black and White: Women, La Dépêche Africaine and the Print Culture of the Diaspora                         

6. ¿These Men¿s Minor Transgressions:¿ White Frenchwomen on Colonialism and Feminism                    

Conclusion                                                      

Notes