Rethinking colonialism: Conference in Tanzania highlights history

Rethinking colonialism: Conference in Tanzania highlights history

An international conference focusing on the legacy of colonialism and the role of Christian missionaries will take place on July 18 and 19, 2025 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The University of Rostock organizes this event in collaboration with the Dar es Salaam Tumaini University, the University of Hamburg and the University of Basel. Under the title "Connected, Entangled, or Shared History? The Legacy of Colonialism and Mission from Tanzanian, German and Swiss Perspective", the conference aims to examine German colonial rule in the 19th century and the effects of this rule on the culture of remembrance in Germany, Switzerland and Tanzania.

The focus on colonial history is particularly relevant to explore differences and similarities in perspectives on the shared past. Professor Ulrike Schröder from the University of Rostock emphasizes how important it is to promote today's understanding of German colonialism in Tanzania. The aim is to deepen the postcolonial reappraisal and understanding of the associated social structures.

Participants and perspectives

Scientists from different countries as well as experts from churches, museums and non-governmental organizations will take part in the conference. These diverse perspectives are crucial to developing the analytical methods that make visible the violence and injustice of colonialism. Resistance to colonialism is also understood as an intellectual project that encompasses both political and scientific decolonization.

In recent decades, postcolonial research has intensively examined the manifestations of colonial rule in areas such as science, politics and economics. This shows that colonialism not only affects the colonized peoples, but also the colonial powers. Thought leaders such as Edward Said and Homi Bhabha have made significant contributions by challenging Eurocentric orders of knowledge and elucidating the complex relationships between colonial and postcolonial identities.

The role of the culture of remembrance

The conference in Dar es Salaam will also focus on the historical and cultural reappraisal of the colonial legacy. Understanding colonial violence and its impact on contemporary community life will be particularly important. Discussions will address the question of how different societies integrate memories of the colonial era into their cultural narratives and what role gender and ethnic perspectives play in this.

Professor Schröder will be available to provide further information. She can be contacted on +49 381 498-8440 or by email at ulrike.schroeder2@uni-rostock.de.

The event promises to be an important contribution to current discussions about postcolonial identities and their complex interconnections. The ongoing influence of colonial structures on modern society is discussed both in Tanzania and in the former colonial states of Germany and Switzerland. The conference thus pursues an important goal: making marginalized histories visible and developing approaches to intellectual decolonization.