Postcolonial acculturation: Modernization during the HabibBourguiba Era in Tunisia

This study introduces the concept of "postcolonial acculturation" as an innovative framework for examining cultural transformation and modernization in countries with colonial histories.Its primary goal is to evaluate the relevance and reliability of this concept through an in-depth case study focusing on Tunisia. The notion of "postcolonial acculturation" emerges from a critical perspective that challenges existing literature's limited understanding of acculturation.Traditionally, acculturation is depicted as a cultural consequence of colonial policies during the period of military occupation. However, drawing on insights from postcolonial theory and its analysis of modern colonialism, this study questions the notion that acculturation solely occurred during the official colonial era. This study, rooted in postcolonial theory, asserts that acculturation, a product of the colonial era, retains its substantive reality in the postcolonial context. Consequently, it argues that acculturation is a pivotal concept essential for analyzingthe cultural dynamics of indigenous communities not only during colonial rule but also in the postcolonial era. However, to differentiate postcolonial acculturation from colonial acculturation and emphasize its analysis through the lens of postcolonial theory, a novel concept termed "postcolonial acculturation" is introduced.Tunisia, having experienced 75 years of French colonial domination, serves as a case study to examine this claim and to evaluate the utility and relevance of the concept of postcolonial acculturation. The study focuses specifically on the Habib Bourguiba era (1956-1987),characterized by significant cultural transformations and modernization initiatives in postcolonial Tunisia. In this context, the study scrutinized the policies enacted by Bourguiba concerning education, religion, and family —the pivotal institutions shaping social culture. It analyzed the political discourses generated around these institutions and their relevance to the concept of postcolonial acculturation. The findings of the study show that education, religion and family policies and political discourses towards these institutions, which were effective in shaping cultural life during the Bourguiba period, point to the continuity of acculturation stemming from the colonial legacy.