Decolonizing the Museum – Transnational Comparisons

In 2016, the National Museum of African American History and Culture opened in Washington, DC, against the background of intense debates about public memorialization of slavery and the Civil War, and calls for reparations. Meanwhile, a growing number of exhibitions in German museums have begun to tackle German colonial history, including the genocide of Hereros and Namas in what was then German-Southwest Africa, and explore its legacies in a culturally diverse society. Historians, curators, artists, and activists in both countries are at the center of discussions about dire pasts, the politics of collecting and exhibiting, and the possibility of repair.

During this conference, scholars and curators from the USA and Germany spoke about recent efforts to create postcolonial approaches to cultural heritage, cosmopolitan pedagogy, and museums’ engagement with postcolonial communities.  

The conference included a keynote by Dr. Silke Arnold-de Simine (University of London), a prominent scholar of museum studies; two academic panels presenting case studies on exhibiting the colonial past from Germany and slavery in the USA; and two roundtables with scholars from Georgetown University about GU’s efforts to come to terms with the university’s history of slavery, and with artists working in German museums, respectively. The conference took place Friday, November 9, at Georgetown University and Saturday, November 10, at Howard University. 

The conference was organized by Prof. Katrin Sieg (Georgetown University) and Prof. Ana-Lucia Araujo (Howard University).