Editing Frantz Fanon (section)

===France===
Fanon was educated at the [[University of Lyon]], where he also studied literature, drama and philosophy, sometimes attending [[Merleau-Ponty]]'s lectures. During this period, he wrote three plays, of which two survive.<ref>Fanon, Frantz (2015). [http://www.editionsladecouverte.fr/catalogue/index-_crits_sur_l_alienation_et_la_liberte-9782707188717.html ''Écrits sur l'aliénation et la liberté''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113140322/http://www.editionsladecouverte.fr/catalogue/index-_crits_sur_l_alienation_et_la_liberte-9782707188717.html |date=13 January 2017 }}. Éditions La Découverte, Paris. {{ISBN|978-2-7071-8871-7}}</ref> After qualifying as a [[psychiatrist]] in 1951, Fanon did a residency in psychiatry at [[Saint-Alban-sur-Limagnole]] under the radical [[Catalan people|Catalan]] psychiatrist [[François Tosquelles]], who invigorated Fanon's thinking by emphasizing the role of culture in psychopathology.

In 1948, Fanon started a relationship with Michèle Weyer, a medical student, who soon became pregnant. He left her for an 18-year-old high school student, Josie, whom he married in 1952. At the urging of his friends, he later recognized his daughter, [[Mireille Fanon Mendès-France|Mireille]], although he did not have contact with her.<ref>Zeilig, L. (2016) ''Frantz Fanon, Militant Philosopher of Third World Liberation.'' I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd. p 31</ref>

In France, while completing his residency, Fanon wrote and published his first book, ''[[Black Skin, White Masks]]'' (1952), an analysis of the negative psychological effects of [[Colonialism|colonial]] subjugation upon black people. Originally, the manuscript was the [[doctoral dissertation]], submitted at Lyon, entitled ''Essay on the Disalienation of the Black'', which was a response to the racism that Fanon experienced while studying psychiatry and medicine at the University in Lyon; the rejection of the dissertation prompted Fanon to publish it as a book. In 1951, for his [[doctor of medicine]] degree, he submitted another dissertation of narrower scope and a different subject (''Altérations mentales, modifications caractérielles, troubles psychiques et déficit intellectuel dans l'hérédo-dégénération spino-cérébelleuse : à propos d'un cas de maladie de Friedreich avec délire de possession'' – ''Mental alterations, character modifications, psychic disorders, and intellectual deficit in hereditary spinocerebellar degeneration: A case of Friedreich's disease with delusions of possession''). [[Left-wing]] philosopher [[Francis Jeanson]], leader of the pro-Algerian independence [[Jeanson network]], read Fanon's manuscript and, as a senior book editor at [[Éditions du Seuil]] in Paris, gave the book its new title and wrote its epilogue.<ref name=ACherki>{{cite book |last=Cherki|first=Alice|title=Frantz Fanon: A Portrait|url=https://archive.org/details/frantzfanonportr00cher|url-access=registration|year=2006|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=978-0-8014-7308-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/frantzfanonportr00cher/page/24 24]}}</ref>

After receiving Fanon's manuscript at Seuil, Jeanson invited him to an editorial meeting. Amid Jeanson's praise of the book, Fanon exclaimed: "Not bad for a nigger, is it?" Insulted, Jeanson dismissed Fanon from his office. Later, Jeanson learned that his response had earned him the writer's lifelong respect, and Fanon acceded to Jeanson's suggestion that the book be entitled ''Black Skin, White Masks''.<ref name=ACherki/>

In the book, Fanon described the unfair treatment of black people in France and how they were disapproved of by [[white people]]. Frantz argued that racism and dehumanization directed toward black people caused feelings of inferiority among black people. This dehumanization prevented black people from fully assimilating into white society and, further, into full personhood. This caused psychological strife among black people, as even if they spoke French, obtained an education, and followed social customs associated with white people, they would still never be regarded as French, or a Man; instead, black people are defined as "Black Man" rather than "Man". (See further discussion of ''Black Skin, White Masks'' under Work, below.)