140 years of the Berlin Africa Conference: Imperialism yesterday and today. Neo-colonialism or imperialism: how do we understand global inequality today?

140 years ago, European colonial powers met in Berlin to negotiate the division of the African continent among themselves. While only a fraction of Africa was under colonial rule a few years before the conference, by the end of the 19th century almost the entire continent had been divided up between Great Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Belgium and Spain. The Berlin Africa Conference of 1884/1885 is emblematic of this race for Africa and is regarded as the peak phase of European imperialism. Rather than being a historically closed phenomenon, imperial relations continue to have an impact today in many different ways or appear in a new guise.

With this series of events, we, the Department of Development Policy and Postcolonial Studies, want to trace and discuss the diverse political, economic and epistemic connections between imperialism then and now.

The first part of the event will focus on German colonial rule in Togo and Namibia. In the second part, we will look at colonial continuities in the global political economy and discuss current forms of energy colonialism, neo-colonialism and imperialism. Finally, we will show the documentary film "Walter Rodney: What They Don't Want You to Know".

The entire series of events has been produced in collaboration with Kassel postkolonial, BUKO, Medico International, Forensic Architecture, the Walter Rodney Foundation and the Ameena Gafoor Institute. All events are open to the public.

We also welcome active participation from people who have nothing to do with the university in their everyday lives!

Dates:

06.11.2024, 6 pm, Arnold-Bode-Straße 10, 2nd floor, room 1309

Title: German colonialism: punitive expeditions in Togo

Napo Oubo-Gbati

20.11.2024, 6 p.m., Arnold-Bode-Straße 10, 2nd floor, room 1309

Title: German Colonial Genocide in Namibia

Film screening and discussion with Namibian Traditional Leaders Association (NTLA), medico international and forensic Architecture

29.11.2024, 5 pm, Arnold-Bode-Straße 10, 2nd floor, room 1309

Title: Comic Launch: Episodes From a Colonial Present

with the authors

02.12.2024, 6 pm, Arnold-Bode-Straße 10, 2nd floor, room 1309

Title: Celebration and denial: selective memory culture in Swakopmund

Laidlaw Peringanda (Namibian Genocide Association)

22.01.2025, 6 pm, Arnold-Bode-Straße 10, 2nd floor, room 1309

Title: Energy Colonialism: Concepts, Infrastructures and Conflicts

Franziska Müller and Nina Baghery (Uni Hamburg and Uni Kassel)

29.01.2024, 6 p.m., Arnold-Bode-Straße 10, 2nd floor, room 1309

Title: Neo-colonialism or imperialism: how do we understand global inequality today?

Aram Ziai, Frauke Banse, Anil Shah (University of Kassel)

12.02.2024, 6 p.m., Arnold-Bode-Straße 10, 2nd floor, Asta Studierendenhaus

Title: Walter Rodney: What They Don't Want You to Know.

Filmscreening of an award-winning documentary