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Colonialisms
Living with Colonialism: Nationalism and Culture in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
Histories written in the aftermath of empire have often featured conquerors and peasant rebels but have said little about the vast staffs of locally recruited clerks, technicians, teachers, and medics who made colonialism work day-to-day. Even as these workers maintained the colonial state, they dreamed of displacing imperial power. This book examines the history of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (1898-1956) and the Republic of Sudan that followed in order to understand how colonialism worked on the ground, affected local cultures, influenced the rise of nationalism, and shaped the postcolonial nation-state.
Relying on a rich cache of Sudanese Arabic literary sources, including poetry, essays, and memoirs, as well as on colonial documents and photographs, this perceptive study examines colonialism from the viewpoint of those who lived and worked in its midst. By integrating the case of Sudan with material on other countries, particularly India, Sharkey gives her book broad comparative appeal. She shows that colonial legacies―such as inflexible borders, atomized multi-ethnic populations, and autocratic governing structures―have persisted, hobbling postcolonial nation-states. Thus countries like Sudan are still living with colonialism, struggling to achieve consensus and stability within borders that a fallen empire has left behind.
Relying on a rich cache of Sudanese Arabic literary sources, including poetry, essays, and memoirs, as well as on colonial documents and photographs, this perceptive study examines colonialism from the viewpoint of those who lived and worked in its midst. By integrating the case of Sudan with material on other countries, particularly India, Sharkey gives her book broad comparative appeal. She shows that colonial legacies―such as inflexible borders, atomized multi-ethnic populations, and autocratic governing structures―have persisted, hobbling postcolonial nation-states. Thus countries like Sudan are still living with colonialism, struggling to achieve consensus and stability within borders that a fallen empire has left behind.
252 pages, Paperback
First published February 16, 2003
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About the author
Heather J. Sharkey
12 books2 followersHeather J. Sharkey is Professor in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (NELC) at the University of Pennsylvania.
She received her Ph.D. in History from Princeton University after conducting research abroad on a Fulbright-Hays fellowship. As the recipient of a Marshall scholarship from the British government, she earned an M.Phil. degree in Modern Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Durham in England. She also earned a B.A. in Anthropology, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Yale University. Before joining the Penn faculty in 2002, she taught at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Trinity College in Connecticut.
In 2011 she won the Charles Ludwig Distinguished Teaching Award from the School of Arts and Sciences of the University of Pennsylvania. In 2012-2013 she was a Visiting Professor in Paris at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in the Institut d’Études de l’Islam et des Sociétés du Monde Musulman (IISMM).
She received her Ph.D. in History from Princeton University after conducting research abroad on a Fulbright-Hays fellowship. As the recipient of a Marshall scholarship from the British government, she earned an M.Phil. degree in Modern Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Durham in England. She also earned a B.A. in Anthropology, summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Yale University. Before joining the Penn faculty in 2002, she taught at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Trinity College in Connecticut.
In 2011 she won the Charles Ludwig Distinguished Teaching Award from the School of Arts and Sciences of the University of Pennsylvania. In 2012-2013 she was a Visiting Professor in Paris at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in the Institut d’Études de l’Islam et des Sociétés du Monde Musulman (IISMM).
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 19, 2025
Very interesting. Won’t give you anything on current Sudanese conflict but you are able to see seeds of Mahdist and British rule on Sudan today. Refreshing having a female historian who tries to bring in women’s perspective, even if they were incredibly marginalised from 1898 onwards!
April 26, 2017
Heather Sharkey’s analysis in Living With Colonialism centers around three core questions: what was everyday colonialism, how did nationalism arise from it, and how did the colonial state evolve into a nation? Using Sudan under the British as a case study, she argues that everyday colonialism was the day-to-day functioning of the colony, as opposed to the extraordinary events and personalities, which made the system work. These duties were increasingly assigned to members of the indigenous elite who were educated in the technical functioning of the bureaucracy and grew to share common experiences. These natively-run bureaucracies gave rise to the need and utility of nationalism and fostered a brand of literature that gave it a conceptual shape and allowed it to spread. Drawing substantially from the ideas of Benedict Anderson, the author’s ultimate argument is that the bureaucracy gave a practical form the idea of being “Sudanese” by defining the identity of a particular group of people within a geographical boundary around common tasks, goals, history, and education.
Sharkey’s first chapter explores how this identity was complicated by the fact that these functionaries were almost entirely Northern Sudanese, who were considered racially superior by the Britons due to their stronger connection to an Arab and Muslim heritage than the Southern and darker-skinned Sudanese within the same administrative territory. This led to conflict as “Sudan” came to be defined by those in the North at the expense of the South, the latter of whom were, under both colonial and nationalist rule, often denied the ability to participate in the administration and governance of the country. She traces the evolution of the term “Sudanese” through four stages, from referring to ex-slaves, to “inhabitants of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan”, to an ideological concept that differentiated them from nationalist Egyptians, and finally to a nationalist self-identity. Her second body chapter explores how Gordon College not only provided the functionaries technical training, but “socialized its students and produced a shared culture – meaning an outlook and lifestyle based on achievements, interests, and assumptions”. In demonstrating this, she focuses on the communal bonding aspects of the institution’s games, as well as the school’s encouragement of a shared literary and visual culture. These pursuits were continued in clubs after graduation, which soon became centers for the pursuit of an independent nation.
The author’s next chapter examines how the bureaucracy underwent a process of “Sudanization”, wherein indigenous functionaries were given greater responsibilities. Here she identifies five stages, beginning with an initial period from 1898 through 1919 where administrators attempted to save money by hiring increasing numbers of locals, as they could be paid lesser wages than Egyptians, Levantines, or Europeans. After the 1919 Egyptian Revolution, “Sudanese” individuals were brought in in even greater numbers due to the desire to purge the perceived radical Egyptian element from the administration. This lasted until 1924, when the nationalist activities of Gordon College graduates led colonial overseers to be more hesitant in hiring them. Although they were still preferred to Egyptians, the 1929 Depression contributed to the declining number of hires overall as budgets shrank. This phase lasted until 1935, when there was a brief resurgence of hiring Sudanese recruits to replace Britons as the Depression became more severe. The onset of World War II and subsequent developments empowered the nationalists, while the British grew weary of the burdens of imperialism and sought to further “Sudanize” the service.
Sharkey’s penultimate chapter explores the idea of collaboration with the occupying forces and how it fit into a process that had the goal of Sudanese nationalism and independence. She argues that, in addition to the pragmatic necessity of cooperation for the survival of both the movement and the individuals, the nationalists were able to develop a nuanced negotiation of their relationship through mutual contempt and mutual admiration. In her final chapter, the author takes a brief look at the nation after independence. Highlighting the idea that newly decolonized nations often commanded limited support and had logistical problems in disseminating their message and plans for unity and productivity, she argues that literature was a primary channel through which this unity could be developed and achieved in Sudan. Her conclusion recapitulates her argument and returns to the division between North and South Sudan, where she (writing in 2003) sees little hope for reconciliation between the two halves due to the locus of the formation of “Sudanese” identity being in the North.
Sharkey’s book does become disjointed at several points, which makes it difficult at times to connect all her ideas with the broader argument, but she does a good job of bringing everything together in her brief conclusion. Overall Living with Colonialism is well-written, clear, nuanced, and engaging, without being overly complicated. Although it may not leap off the page, it is an enjoyable read with no serious flaws, and one that builds upon old ideas as much as it opens new pathways. The author contributes significantly to the historiography of not only Sudan, but of nationalism itself and thus is an essential read for area scholars and historians of nationalism alike. Although it is unlikely to be accessible or interesting to the average reader, it is a rare and engaging treat for academics.
Sharkey’s first chapter explores how this identity was complicated by the fact that these functionaries were almost entirely Northern Sudanese, who were considered racially superior by the Britons due to their stronger connection to an Arab and Muslim heritage than the Southern and darker-skinned Sudanese within the same administrative territory. This led to conflict as “Sudan” came to be defined by those in the North at the expense of the South, the latter of whom were, under both colonial and nationalist rule, often denied the ability to participate in the administration and governance of the country. She traces the evolution of the term “Sudanese” through four stages, from referring to ex-slaves, to “inhabitants of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan”, to an ideological concept that differentiated them from nationalist Egyptians, and finally to a nationalist self-identity. Her second body chapter explores how Gordon College not only provided the functionaries technical training, but “socialized its students and produced a shared culture – meaning an outlook and lifestyle based on achievements, interests, and assumptions”. In demonstrating this, she focuses on the communal bonding aspects of the institution’s games, as well as the school’s encouragement of a shared literary and visual culture. These pursuits were continued in clubs after graduation, which soon became centers for the pursuit of an independent nation.
The author’s next chapter examines how the bureaucracy underwent a process of “Sudanization”, wherein indigenous functionaries were given greater responsibilities. Here she identifies five stages, beginning with an initial period from 1898 through 1919 where administrators attempted to save money by hiring increasing numbers of locals, as they could be paid lesser wages than Egyptians, Levantines, or Europeans. After the 1919 Egyptian Revolution, “Sudanese” individuals were brought in in even greater numbers due to the desire to purge the perceived radical Egyptian element from the administration. This lasted until 1924, when the nationalist activities of Gordon College graduates led colonial overseers to be more hesitant in hiring them. Although they were still preferred to Egyptians, the 1929 Depression contributed to the declining number of hires overall as budgets shrank. This phase lasted until 1935, when there was a brief resurgence of hiring Sudanese recruits to replace Britons as the Depression became more severe. The onset of World War II and subsequent developments empowered the nationalists, while the British grew weary of the burdens of imperialism and sought to further “Sudanize” the service.
Sharkey’s penultimate chapter explores the idea of collaboration with the occupying forces and how it fit into a process that had the goal of Sudanese nationalism and independence. She argues that, in addition to the pragmatic necessity of cooperation for the survival of both the movement and the individuals, the nationalists were able to develop a nuanced negotiation of their relationship through mutual contempt and mutual admiration. In her final chapter, the author takes a brief look at the nation after independence. Highlighting the idea that newly decolonized nations often commanded limited support and had logistical problems in disseminating their message and plans for unity and productivity, she argues that literature was a primary channel through which this unity could be developed and achieved in Sudan. Her conclusion recapitulates her argument and returns to the division between North and South Sudan, where she (writing in 2003) sees little hope for reconciliation between the two halves due to the locus of the formation of “Sudanese” identity being in the North.
Sharkey’s book does become disjointed at several points, which makes it difficult at times to connect all her ideas with the broader argument, but she does a good job of bringing everything together in her brief conclusion. Overall Living with Colonialism is well-written, clear, nuanced, and engaging, without being overly complicated. Although it may not leap off the page, it is an enjoyable read with no serious flaws, and one that builds upon old ideas as much as it opens new pathways. The author contributes significantly to the historiography of not only Sudan, but of nationalism itself and thus is an essential read for area scholars and historians of nationalism alike. Although it is unlikely to be accessible or interesting to the average reader, it is a rare and engaging treat for academics.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews