An anthropological study of postcolonial reconciliation: the case study of relations between Germany and its former African colonies

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 22520813
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Cultural anthropology/Folklore
• Research Institution: Hokkaido University
• Principal Investigator: ODA Hiroshi 北海道大学, 文学研究科, 准教授 (30333579)
• Project Period (FY): 2010-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 歴史和解 / 植民地主義 / ドイツ / アフリカ / レイシズム / 記憶のギャップ / 媒介 / 自然

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The main findings can be summarized in the following 6 points: (1) Activities to mediate different collective memories between Germany and its former African colonies have been launched (for example, the construction of monuments to colonial war victims). (2) Spaces for dialogue between colonial Others are limited at informal levels. (3) Biographies of pacifistic officers of the German Colonial Troops are reevaluated as examples of peace resources. (4) German initiatives for postcolonial “reconciliation” are modeled on the precedent of postwar reconciliation, but particularities like implementation through the channels of developmental aid are observed. (5) The repatriation of human remains collected during the colonial period raises the critical question of research ethics. (6) Asymmetrical divisions between “natural people / cultural people” were an assumption of colonial racism and “reconnecting to nature” is to be regarded as an important issue for overcoming its aftermath.

Free Research Field

文化人類学　平和研究