By Jun.-Prof. Dr. Julia Binter

Transdisciplinary, international conference A Laboratory for Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue? Missionary Collections at the Interface of Religion, Science and Global Society University of Bonn, Steyler Missionare (Societas Verbi Divini) Sankt Augustin/ Bonn 10–12 September 2024 Can missionary collections become laboratories for intercultural and interreligious dialogue? An international, transdisciplinary conference seeks to answer this question by bringing […]

By Jun.-Prof. Dr. Julia Binter

How can we develop more equitable and sustainable ways of collaboratively researching, curating and returning collections from colonial contexts? The project ‘Confronting Colonial Pasts, Envisioning Creative Futures’ focuses on the preservation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and the unlocking of the healing and creative potential of the colonial collections from Namibia at the Ethnologisches Museum in […]

By Prof. Dr. Sophia Labadi

How can a ‘decolonial’ approach to heritage help to confront the urgent questions of our time and contribute to building more sustainable and just futures? How have African countries dealt with, revisited, and addressed Eurocentric public memorial approaches after gaining independence? These are some of the questions that Prof. Dr. Sophia Labadi seeks to address […]

By Prof. Dr. Paul Basu and Dr. J. Kelechi Ugwuanyi

This pilot study explores the dissonant heritage and ontological ambivalence resulting from colonial/missionary encounters with Igbo cosmology, particularly in relation to the Igbo concept of nso ani, literally translated to sanction or taboo. Nso ani provided the principles for establishing rules and values that guided life and living among Igbo communities to maintain the rhythm […]

By Prof. Dr. Paul Basu and Dr. Tobias Skowronek

Between the 15th and 20th centuries, hundreds of millions of species known as manillas were shipped from Europe to West Africa. These open horseshoe-shaped rings made of metal have been traded for the enslaved, as well as gold, ivory, palm oil, and many more commodities. However, despite the enormous industrial scale of their manufacture, alarmingly […]

By Eleonora Grammatikou

The representation of Black people in European art and material culture offers profound insights into historical perceptions and representations of people from Africa and the African diaspora in Europe. This research is dedicated to a detailed analysis of the Tucher family coat of arms, which since 1345 depicts a Black person in profile. This case […]

By Dr. Alejandro Mora Motta

Coordination Team: This project is being co-organized by a consortium of researchers from different institutes at the University of Bonn. Dr Alejandro Mora Mottaa (coord. TRA 5), Emilia Fernengel, Prof Dr Paul Basua, Dr Jan Linhart (coord. TRA 4 and Argelander) b, Prof. Dr Christiane Woopenb, Dr Dennis Avilés Iraholac, PD Dr Eva Youkhanac, & […]

By Emilia Fernengel

The promoted “peace” in Colombia changed the country’s image in the past years from one of the most dangerous places in the world to a booming travel destination. Besides the sun and sea destinations in the Caribbean Sea, Colombia primarily promotes its natural and cultural heritage sites. One ofthem is the UNESCO World Heritage Site […]

By Jun.-Prof. Dr. Julia Binter

How can art help to bridge rural-urban and generational divides? The project ‘Artistic Research and Communal Knowledge’ builds on and closely interrelates with the collaborative research, curation and restitution project ‘Confronting Colonial Pasts, Envisioning Creative Futures’. It brings together contemporary artists and communal knowledge keepers and creators in Namibia to develop new, more equitable ways […]

By William Nsuiban Gmayi

Issues of restitution, repatriation and repair dominate contemporary debates relating to anthropological, world art and world cultures museums and collections. As part of a wider call to decolonise institutions of knowledge production such as museums, archives and universities, questions around African collections in European museums were brought to the foreground in a speech by the […]