The Cultural And Historical Heritage Of Colonialism

In the time since most African countries achieved independence from European colonial powers, it is unfortunate that these nations are still politically, economically, and culturally reordered by their former colonisers. This book argues that these nations often slavishly emulate Western values to the detriment of indigenous ones. It challenges the postcolony to ground itself in local experience and then nativise external values, which entails delicately sifting through both the domestic and foreign worlds to build a decent and humane society.

The global community, dependent as always on the cooperation of nation states, is gradually learning to address the serious threats to the cultural heritage of our disparate but shared civilizations. The legacy of conquest, colonialization, and commerce looms large in defining and explaining these threats. The essays contained in this challenging volume are based on papers presented at an international conference on cultural heritage issues that took place at Willamette University. The conference sought to generate fresh ideas about these cultural heritage issues; offer a good sense of their nuances and complexities; and reveal how culture, law, and ethics can interact, complement, diverge, and contradict one another.

Migration flows in the former Dutch colonial orbit created an intricate web connecting the Netherlands to Africa, Asia and the Americas; Africa to the Americas and to Asia; in the nineteenth century Asia to the Americas, with, in the post-Second World War period, the direction of migration shifting to the Netherlands. Some of these migrations were voluntary, others were forced; they helped to create colonial societies that were never typically Dutch, but did have Dutch characteristics. Power imbalance, ethnic differences and creolization characterized the cultural configuration of these colonial societies. This book, with contributions by a number of Dutch scholars, provides state-of-the-art discussions on these migration histories. In addition, it presents reflections on the ways this past and its repercussions are remembered (or forgotten, or actively silenced) throughout the former colonial empire.

Cultural Diplomacy and the Heritage of Empire analyzes the history of the negotiations that led to the atypical return of colonial-era cultural property from the Netherlands to Indonesia in the 1970s. By doing so, the book shows that competing visions of post-colonial redress were contested throughout the era of post-World War II decolonization. Considering the danger this precedent posed to other countries, the book looks beyond the Dutch-Indonesian case to the “Elgin (Parthenon) Marbles” and “Benin Bronzes” controversies, as well as recent developments relating to returns in France and the Netherlands. Setting aside the “universalism versus nationalism” debate, Scott asserts that the deeper meaning of post-colonial cultural property disputes in European history has more to do with how officials of former colonial powers negotiated decolonization, while also creating contemporary understandings of their nations’ pasts. As a whole, the book expands the field of cultural restitution studies and offers a more nuanced understanding of the connections drawn between postcolonial national identity making and the extension of cultural diplomacy. Cultural Diplomacy and the Heritage of Empire offers a new perspective on the international influence of the UNGA and UNESCO on the return debate. As such, the book will be of interest to scholars, students and practitioners engaged in the study of cultural property diplomacy and law, museum and heritage studies, modern European history, post-colonial studies and historical anthropology.

Decolonizing Colonial Heritage explores how different agents practice the decolonization of European colonial heritage at European and extra-European locations. Assessing the impact of these practices, the book also explores what a new vision of Europe in the postcolonial present could look like. Including contributions from academics, artists and heritage practitioners, the volume explores decolonial heritage practices in politics, contemporary history, diplomacy, museum practice, the visual arts and self-generated memorial expressions in public spaces. The comparative focus of the chapters includes examples of internal colonization in Europe and extends to former European colonies, among them Shanghai, Cape Town and Rio de Janeiro. Examining practices in a range of different contexts, the book pays particular attention to sub-national actors whose work is opening up new futures through their engagement with decolonial heritage practices in the present. The volume also considers the challenges posed by applying decolonial thinking to existing understandings of colonial heritage. Decolonizing Colonial Heritage examines the role of colonial heritage in European memory politics and heritage diplomacy. It will be of interest to academics and students working in the fields of heritage and memory studies, colonial and imperial history, European studies, sociology, cultural studies, development studies, museum studies, and contemporary art. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylor francis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Exploring museums and cultural centers in New England that hold important meanings for Native American communities today, this illuminating book offers a much-needed critique of the collaborative work being done to preserve and promote the cultural heritage of the region. Siobhan Hart examines the narratives told by and about Native American communities at heritage sites of the Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe on Martha’s Vineyard, the Pocumtuck in Deerfield, Massachusetts, the Mashantucket Pequot reservation in Connecticut, and Plimoth Plantation in Massachusetts. She looks at interpretive signage, exhibits, events, and visitor engagement strategies that try to reverse the common idea that Native peoples no longer exist in these landscapes and asks whether the messages of these sites really do help break apart the power structures of colonialism. She finds that in many cases whiteness is still presented to visitors as the cultural norm and that the burden of decolonizing often falls on indigenous curators, interpreters, and collaborators. Hart’s analysis spotlights the persistence of racialization and structural inequalities in these landscapes, as well as the negative effects of these problems on current Native American sovereignty. The broader goal of decolonization, she argues, remains unrealized. This book presents startling evidence of the ways even well-intentioned multiperspective approaches to heritage presentations can undermine the social justice they seek. A volume in the series Cultural Heritage Studies, edited by Paul A. Shackel

History, heritage, and colonialism explores the politics of history-making and interest in preserving the material remnants of the past in late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century colonial society, looking at both indigenous pasts and those of European origin. Focusing on New Zealand, but also covering the Australian and Canadian experiences, it explores how different groups and political interests have sought to harness historical narrative in support of competing visions of identity and memory. Considering this within the frames of the local and national as well as of empire, the book offers a valuable critique of the study of colonial identity-making and cultures of colonisation. This book offers important insights for societies negotiating the legacy of a colonial past in a global present, and will be of particular value to all those concerned with museum, heritage, and tourism studies, as well as imperial history.

Addressing colonial history and (post)colonial continuities is a major challenge for the Humboldt Forum, and will decisively shape the activities of this cultural institution. This volume features essays and conversations of prominent museum experts from around the world who have supported and advised the Humboldt Forum in its development. Through their statements, they take part in international discussions such as the intense debate about provenance and restitution of ethnological collections. Includes contributions from George Okello Abungu (Nairobi), Kwame Anthony Appiah (New York), Philipp Blom (Vienna), Hartmut Dorgerloh (Berlin), Rita Eder (Mexico City), Hu Wei (Shanghai), Jyotindra Jain (New Delhi), Lars-Christian Koch (Berlin), Lee Chor Lin (Singapore), Neil MacGregor (London), Natalia Majluf (Lima), Wayne Modest (Amsterdam), Nazan Ölçer (Istanbul), Barbara Plankensteiner (Hamburg), Thomas Thiemeyer (Tübingen), and Abdoulaye Touré (Dakar).