CFP: Germans in the Asia-Pacific Region: (Post) Colonial Entanglements, Conflicts and Perceptions in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
Deadline: 30.09.2024
(…) Taking as its starting point the establishment of the Hamburg firm Godeffroy und Sohn in Apia in 1857, Samoa, the conference will evaluate the histories of German trade, religion, culture, science and settlement in the Asia-Pacific region, emphasising how these were affected by shifting attitudes towards gender, race and class. It will also examine the military, diplomatic and humanitarian presence of Germans there and forms of knowledge transfer during the Wilhelmine, Weimar, Nazi and postwar eras. It seeks to understand the sporadic rather than steadily evolving nature of Germany’s impact on the region and offer a set of histories that demonstrate the multifaceted nature of Germany’s encounters with Asia and the Pacific.
To this end, the conference seeks to answer questions such as:
What was the nature of German colonialism and later political and cultural involvement in Asia and the Pacific and how did it compare with elsewhere?
What role did warfare, diplomacy and trade play in establishing Germany in the region between the 1850s and the 1980s?
How does an exploration of gender and racial relations link German history in the Asian-Pacific region to a broader history?
How did Asian and Pasific peoples experience and respond to German colonial endeavours, political overtures, and knowledge production in their region?
What are the legacies of German scientific and anthropological activity in the region and how do these histories inform current debates about repatriation and restitution?
How did Germany’s involvement in the World Wars and the Cold War affect the Asia-Pacific region and the actions of Germans there?
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