This module takes Felwine Sarr and Bénédicte Savoy’s Report on the Restitution of African Cultural Heritage. Towards a New Relational Ethics(November 2018) as a starting point to explore current propositions on how to deal with the colonial past/s. These propositions include questions around restitution, for example the return of remains and cultural artefacts from German museums and private collections as well as the restitution of land. The propositions also tackle the question on how to exhibit the colonial pasts in public and institutional spaces. The current reflections of the Black Lives Matter movement on taking down statues of people who represent colonialism and slavery speaks to the urgency of this discussion. Together we will look at different examples hosted by institutions and collections as well as ephemeral and performative practices in order to address question of urban colonial histories, memory work or wake work (Christina Sharpe), reparation, the im/possibility of repair (Fred Moten) as well as affect. Examples include the Humboldt Forum and the Anti-Humboldt Forum, Köln Postkolonial, International Inventories Programme, and “The Mourning Citizen” as well as art projects by Nashilongweshipwe Mushaandja and Isabel Tueumuna Katjavivi, two Namibian artists.
In the first half of the term, we will meet on a weekly basis for 4 hours each in order to discuss different theoretical texts and practical examples – either in virtual space or in person, depending on the regulations during the winter term. The second part of the term is dedicated to your project work. For the project you will need to decide on a particular history that you want to explore and respond to – either individually or within a small group. The aim is to exhibit this work together at the end of the term. Guidance throughout this practice-based work will be provided.
- Kursleiter/in: Henriette Barbara Gunkel