Dominic Thomas

Dominic Thomas is a British academic. He is the Madeleine L. Letessier Professor and chair of the Department of French and Francophone Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is the author and editor of several books comparative literature and postcolonialism, with a focus on francophone African studies.

Early life Dominic Thomas graduated from University College London, where he earned a bachelor's degree in French and Philosophy in 1989. He earned a PhD in French from Yale University in 1996.

Career Thomas was the Dr William M. Scholl Collegiate Professor in Romance Languages and Literatures at the University of Notre Dame from 1996 to 2000. He is the author and editor of several books. Professor Claire L. Dehon of Kansas State University agreed, concluding, "Had the author widened his scope of analysis beyond the Congo and explored, even briefly, other national literatures in Francophone Africa, the book would have been more deserving of its title." However, in French Forum, professor Kasongo Mulenda Kapanga of the University of Richmond called it, "a valuable contribution to the study of Congolese novelists Similarly, Harvard University professor Abiola Irele noted, " the work as it stands presents the fundamental preoccupations of Congolese writers and the major lines of articulation of their literature, a corpus that emerges from this study as one of the major areas of contemporary francophone literature."

His 2007 book, Black France: Colonialism, Immigration, and Transnationalism, is a study of comparative literature by francophone African authors like Alain Mabanckou, Bernard Binlin Dadié, Calixthe Beyala, Camara Laye, Fatou Diome, Ferdinand Oyono, Ousmane Sembène, etc. It uses an "interdisciplinary" approach, and "borrows concepts from sociology, literary studies, philosophy, cultural studies, and political science." In the African Studies Review, Professor Jonathan Gosnell of Smith College called it "a short book that will be particularly useful for specialists." Reviewing it for The Journal of African History, Professor Gregory Mann of Columbia University called it "a keen and compelling work of contemporary scholarship." In The French Review, professor Marjorie Attignol Salvodon of Suffolk University adds that the book "examines the fraught history of the colonial relationship between France and several sub-Saharan African countries with intelligence and lucidity."

In Africa and France: Postcolonial Cultures, Migration, and Racism, Thomas "discusses several aspects of postcolonial contexts with France in mind as well as cultures, migration and racism."

Political commentary In 2017, Thomas argued that, "Trump’s position on the international stage has led to a widespread consensus that—essentially, that America has vacated the world of foreign policy leadership and ethics and are turning to new leaders."

Selected works