Colonialism, Restitution and Memory – Reflecting German Colonialism from interdisciplinary approaches and perspectives

The meeting will present the various facets and paradigms structuring a new way of looking at the colonial process from a number of angles, including: the problem of restitution of looted objects, art history and colonial photography, the memorial question, colonial revisionism and, by extension, colonial medicine. The colloquium, which will take place from October 9 to 11, 2024, will be directed by Prof. Martin VOGTHERR of the Technical University of Berlin.

In the process of rewriting the colonial past, it was necessary, indeed legitimate, to rethink German colonialism with narratives that would bring to light this forgotten past, or one hidden in so-called “silent sources ”. This imperative raises a number of questions that deserve to be addressed during the colloquium, namely: How can we rethink and reorient the paradigms of writing the history of colonization? What new challenges need to be met at a time when the question of the memory of the German colonization model is resurfacing? What new approaches are needed to reinvent and revisit the “undiscovered” aspects of artistic and photographic sources? Beyond these questions, other related issues can be addressed in parallel, for example: how are certain colonial images and photographs silenced, and what messages do they reveal? How do museum works, images of colonization and the remnants of the latter - through their representational and investigative dimensions - faithfully express themselves? In photography related to colonization (Cf. K. Azamede), colonial “subjects” on the one hand, and the “atrocities” of colonization on the other, raise a postcolonial gaze even though colonialism dates back several decades. Moreover, colonization remains part of the collective memory (of the former colonized as well as the colonizers), and its legacy still awakens relationships with colonial literature, travel literature, museums and monuments.

In this post-colonial context, this symposium looks at methodological approaches, giving the floor to historians and art historians, cultural studies specialists, sociologists and literary scholars, since colonization and colonial expansion also played a major role, not only in the secretive and sometimes violent looting of cultural and cultic objects, but also in literary and filmic productions that draw particular attention to looting, looted art and collections.

Lastly, the reductive approach of “pure” historical narratives could be more broadly extended to sociologists, anthropologists and jurists (it's clear that an ethnologist's view of the colonial process is more or less different from that of an economist or political scientist, given the diversity of fields in which colonization was involved); this justifies the need for cross-views and interdisciplinary approaches in the human and social sciences. The emergence of recent approaches to writing the history of colonization is no longer in question, as is the resurgence of the debate on restitution and reparation, including revisionism and colonial memory.

In order to create a space for open and international dialogue between academics, researchers and students who are working on German colonization or who have already devoted studies to the issue (not only from a historical-cultural angle, but also from an artistic, socio-anthropological or literary one), the Marc Bloch Center - in its mission to encourage research and scientific discussion, interdisciplinary by virtue of its binational character - has decided to provide through this colloquium a space for exchange and discussion that will be open from the morning of October 10. The Colloquium will also feature a richly varied program of international and enriching panels, and will close with a presentation by a leading figure on the subject.

The scientific and international program is open to anyone interested in the issues that will be raised during the symposium. To register (online and in person), please send an e-mail to the following address, with the subject line: Forum Marc Bloch, memorygermancolonialism@gmail.com, by September 28, 2024 at the latest. A return e-mail will be sent to you with access data (zoom ID/password) for those taking part online, and registration information for the Centre Marc Bloch, a few days before the start of the event.

The Centre Marc Bloch and its entire organization and research team look forward to hearing from you, and ask you to circulate this announcement to your respective institutions and interested colleagues.