Traces and Memory of German colonialism in Africa in Berlin’s urban and cultural landscapes - Detailseite

ECTS Points: 5

Language requirements: min. English B2

This course will introduce international students to visible traces of German colonialism in the Berlin urban landscape. Departing from streets in the so-called “African quarter” in Wedding and the experience of local initiatives who have all been committed for an earnest remembrance of the genocides of the Herero and Nama, the Maji Maji War in former German East-Africa, or the entanglements between colonialism and present-day racism. Through discussion and a guided excursion in the city, we will address some important concepts of memory studies while engaging in a search for traces of the German colonial past in Berlin and connected histories of colonial violence remembered in memorials, exhibitions, performances and literature. On this basis, the course will introduce contemporary cultural projects which have anchored German colonial imperialism in contemporary debates on racism, discrimination and geopolitics.

The following questions will be addressed among others: how are we connected to colonialism and the persistence of colonial thinking in Berlin, Europe, Africa, in diasporic communities, or elsewhere? How might memory of the Holocaust help in a growing acknowledgement of other instances of genocide and violence? What have activist, academic and artistic voices in Berlin brought with regard to the importance of working through this history?

- Zimmerer, Jürgen. 2013. Kein Platz an der Sonne : Erinnerungsorte der deutschen Kolonialgeschichte. (excerpts)

- Zaugg, Roberto. 2017. "Grossfriedrichsburg, the First German Colony in Africa? Brandenburg-Prussia, Atlantic entanglements and national memory."

- Lemkin, Raphael. 1944. “Chapter IX: Genocide”. Axis Rule in Occupied Europe. pp 79 - 95.

- Rothberg, Michael. 2011. "From Gaza to Warsaw: Mapping Multidirectional Memory."  pp 523-48.

- Biwa, Memory. 2012. ‘Weaving the Past with Threads of Memory': Commemorations of the colonial war in southern Namibia (excerpts).

- Lorde, Audre. 1984., “Age, Race, Class and Sex: Women Redefining Difference”. Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches. pp 114-123.

This seminar carries 5 ECTS.

For international incoming students and HU students.

Language requirements English B2 minimum.

NO registration via Agnes.

Application via Berlin Perspectives ONLY: BP Module application

Internationale Programmstudierende / International exchange students.

HU-Studierende im ÜWP.