The aspiration for colonies was debated controversially in the socalled belated nation. Despite its late and uncertain arrival as a colonial power, colonial images and endeavors played a crucial role in Germany. To introduce the German colonial period, this course examines a variety of different materials: literary and cultural, visual and theoretical. Guiding questions of our analyses will concern discourses of race and miscegenation; reports on colonial violence and their literary representation; the visual culture of people shows, zoos, and postcards. In addition, we will explore a selection of the most important trends in postcolonial theory.
Readings include texts by Forster, Joseph Conrad, Kafka, Raabe, Loos, Altenberg, Fanon, Said, Bhabha, and Spivak.
