John Ruedy 1927–2016

Abstract

John “Jack” Ruedy was an illustrious historian of Algeria, an inspiring mentor, a teacher of great gifts, the founding director of a long-flourishing M.A. program, and a man for whom principle was not a matter of convenience. A Francophile who came to the study of French colonialism in Algeria as the result of an impromptu sail from the south of France to that country while still a student. Jack then engaged deeply with the Maghreb, an interest and commitment that began with his book Land Policy in Colonial Algeria (1967), and ultimately culminated in the writing of Modern Algeria: The Origins and Development of a Nation in 1992. This latter book has endured as a seminal account of the theories and practices of settler colonialism in Algeria, often cited and serving as the springboard for much later work on Algerian history. His research interests in colonial land policies also led him to make an early and signal contribution to Palestine studies in a chapter, “The Dynamics of Land Alienation,” he contributed to Ibrahim Abu-Lughod's The Transformation of Palestine in 1971.