Events - Other
"One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman," Simone de Beauvoir argues in her famous book The Second Sex, published in 1949. This has come as no surprise to historians since the 1990s, as women's and gender studies have identified numerous examples that argue against historically defined, biological gender roles. In this light, we ask what historically characterized a man or a woman and how were gender identities defined, for which there are long abbreviations today? What definitions and ideas of ‘woman’ and ‘man’ were there in the first place? And: Did this broad variance in gender identities also exist in historical and transcultural comparison? The perhaps surprising answer is: Of course! You will learn more about this with the help of three illustrative contributions on Europe and Asia by researchers from the Bonn Centre for Dependency and Slavery Studies. A short series of three presentations will be held in German and English.
BCDSS PhD Researcher Anas Ansar will lead a post-screening discussion on contemporary slavery / human trafficking at the WOKI Cinema Bonn, on 11 February, 17:30h. Every year, millions of people around the world, mainly women and girls, fall victim to modern-day human trafficking. Over a period of seven long years, Helen Simon researched and listened to people whose stories had previously gone unheard. This documentary by Helen Simon, Germany 2021, will be screened in the original languages (Afrikaans, Arabic, Czech, Dari, English, German, Portuguese, Romanian, Swahili) with German subtitles. Duration: 91 minutes Please note: cinema ticket fees apply. To book tickets in advance see the Woki website below. The discussion will be held in ENGLISH.
Join us for the screening of “Vagrants, Vagabonds, Immorals", a documentary directed by Nina Tedesco and Paulo Terra (Brazil 2024). The film focuses on the dictatorship period (1964-1985) but addresses the connection between the early 20th century and the present. What are the meanings of vagrancy throughout Brazilian history, at least since Abolition? Who was considered a vagrant? What are the possibilities of resistance to attempts at criminalization of vagrancy? The movie tries to answer these questions through the an intersectional lens comprising class, gender, race and sexualities, by engaging in a dialogue about these issues with four female activists: Neusa Maria Pereira, journalist and one of the founders of the Movimento Negro Unificado; Shirley Krenak, Indigenous activist of the Krenak people; Jovanna Baby, founder of the organized movement of transgender people in Brazil; and Nataraj Trinta, historian and organizer of the Slut Walk in Rio de Janeiro. Open to all!
The next reading and discussion will feature Anne Haeming, the author of 'Der gesammelte Joest: Biografie eines Ethnologen,' published by Matthes & Seitz in 2023. Join Pia Wiegmink and Jennifer Leetsch on 15 February 2024 as they query the author on the creative processes involved in writing about Wilhelm Joest, a nineteenth-century German ethnographer and traveller; the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum in Cologne traces its origins to his private collection of over 3,500 objects. Please note that this an onsite event. However, for remote attendees we are offering a Zoom streaming (with microphones disabled). See below for the link. The discussion will be held in English.
The Screening & Discussion of the Documentary “Midwives” is part of a two-day event series marking International Women’s Day 2024. "Midwives", the award-winning documentary by Myanmar film maker Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing is set in the aftermath of the 2017 violent ethnic conflicts between the (Buddhist) Myanmar military and the (Muslim) Rohingya minority in the Rakhine state of Western Myanmar. The story follows the fortunes of a Rakhine Buddhist Woman and founder of a rural antenatal clinic and her Muslim Rohingya apprentice. The film delivers a nuanced portrait in which the clinic acts as a microcosm of contemporary Myanmar. With an eye toward peace and reconciliation, the film reveals how categorical markers of social difference, including ethnicity, religion and gender, contribute to forming and perpetuating dependency relations. The discussion will explore these intersectional dependencies.
"Enslaved Females in Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century North America: Examining the Fugitive Slave Archive" Through an examination of the fugitive slave archive and other sources, this lecture seeks to fill some of the scholarly gaps on the experiences of enslaved females of African descent in Canada. More specifically, it will offer some distinctions between the lives and experiences of enslaved females in slave minority (temperate) and slave majority (tropical) sites in the British transatlantic world.
Continuing our commitment to thought-provoking cinema and dialogue, we kick off our 2024 series with an exclusive preview of the Afrika Film Festival Köln, due this September. We are lucky to be able to feature a pre-launch Screening & Discussion of five Festival films: LIONS by Beru Tessema (2022) OUSMANE by Jorge Camarotti (2021) P.D.O. (PROTECTED DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN) by Sammy Sidali (2021) FLOWERS by Dumas Haddad (2022) SÈT LAM by Vincent Fontano (2023) Join us for our post-screening talk and get-together with BCDSS members: Malik Ade, Mary Aderonke Afolabi-Adelou and Luvena Kopp (moderation) Please register by 2nd May, noon, via: registration@dependency.uni-bonn.de
New photo exhibition by ethnologist and geologist Christoph Antweiler Today, there is no place on earth that has not been touched by humans. Man-made change goes far beyond climate change. It also affects soils, oceans, plants, animals, and geochemical cycles. In short, we humans have become a significant geological factor. We humans have an impact as powerful as that of natural forces such as volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. Our actions today will have repercussions far into the geological future. That is why we talk about a new geological epoch, the “Anthropocene.” According to current research, this new epoch began in the middle of the twentieth century. In this photographic exhibition, ethnologist and geologist Christoph Antweiler from the university's Institute for Oriental and Asian Studies (IOA) shows the causes and consequences of this problematic development.
The event is being held in cooperation with the Academy for International Affairs NRW and the Bonn Center for Reconciliation Studies. As Europe rethinks its foreign policy amidst shifting global political relations, one question remains central: Can cooperation succeed without confronting colonial history? This panel takes Germany’s first genocide of the 20th century in Namibia as a starting point to explore how colonial legacies continue to shape today’s global crises, from geopolitics and inequality to diplomacy and democracy. What does the “past in the present” mean for justice claims and Europe’s future role in the world? With experts Henning Melber, Katharina Hacker, and Julia Manek, moderated by Heloise Weber, the discussion will connect postcolonial perspectives with today’s political challenges, including the rise of authoritarian populism as well as transnational efforts aimed at building relations of solidarity and ‘just repair’.
Join us on 25 March, 2025 for the screening of 'Matses Muxan Akadakit', a captivating movie about the Matis tattoo celebration directed by the indigenous Matis people. The first training courses for Matis filmmakers began in 2015 through audiovisual workshops organized by the Manaus Indian Museum and the Indigenous Work Centre (CTI). On that occasion, several young people were chosen by the dadasibo (the elders) to represent their people through this art. In 2018, the Matis filmmakers made several short films about the cultural importance of the tedinte (the blowgun). The film about the tattoo festival represents a new stage in the training process of these young filmmakers. It was entirely filmed and documented by them, who decided to sign it as a collective work, directed by the “Matis people”. The screening will be followed by a public discussion with the film directors. To register, please send an email to Taynã Tagliati by 21 March.
Enjoy Neyen Pailamilla’s artwork for one last time and meet the artist in the exhibition. The artist talk will be joined by Joanne Rodriguez, the co-curator of the exhibition Knowing Plants – Ecologies of Memory and Practice.
Geliebte Sklavinnen. Deutsche Kaufleute und ihre versklavten Frauen in der Second Slavery Noch bis um 1860 spielte sich die breite globale Wirtschaftsdynamik des globalen Kapitalismus vor allem in Kolonien oder ehemaligen Kolonien ab. Viele deutschsprachige Männer drängten damals in diese "Erste Welt" des Wirtschaftswachstums, der Modernität und des Profits. Diese jungen Männer konnten, falls sie nicht durch Sklavenhandel reich geworden waren, nicht in die traditionelle Land- und Sklavenbesitzerelite einheiraten, weil sie dort als Emporkömmlinge galten. So lebten sie meist mit "Sklavinnen-Geliebten" zusammen. Diese Sklavinnen waren fast immer sehr jung und überlebten ihre "geliebten Eigentümer". Die meisten dieser Sklavinnen wurden von ihrem Eigentümer nach dessen Tod testamentarisch frei gelassen und bekamen einen Teil des Erbes - mit dem sie selbst wiedeurm SklavInnen kauften und zu SklavenhalterInnen sowie zu Führungsfiguren einer jeweils lokalen farbigen Sklavenhalterelite wurden.
Gemeinsam mit renommierten Expert*innen aus Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft gehen wir im Semester wöchentlich auf eine DenkReise zu wünschenswerten Zukünften unterschiedlicher Lebensbereiche. Unsere Gäste stellen ihre Forschung vor und diskutieren mit Studierenden, Nachwuchswissenschaftler*innen und der interessierten Öffentlichkeit. Am Ende des Semesters folgt nach den Reisen im Denken eine gemeinsame Reise als Exkursion zu einem thematisch einschlägigen Ort.
Resilience has been defined by the American Psychological Association as "the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, especially through mental, emotional, and behavioral flexibility to external and internal demands." (Kirmayer et al, 2007). This public talk will share insights from research on the history of childhood in plantation societies in the eighteenth century. Children and young adults in plantation societies in the Caribbean routinely experienced and witnessed traumatizing levels of violence as they were employed in industrial working conditions. Less well-documented by historians are the strategies developed in slave societies to respond to these adverse conditions. How did enslaved children navigate the traumatizing social and physical environment of the plantation, and what outcomes emerged after slavery was abolished? Finally, what lessons can we take away from this very challenging chapter in modern history?
Join us for The International Lunch Seminar titled "Bondage, Resistance, and Violence in Angola, 1600s-1880s: Centering Women in Histories of Slavery," happening on Friday, June 6, 2025, from 12:00 to 1:30 PM at Heussallee 18-24 (room 1.100). Prof. Dr. Mariana P. Candido, Winship Distinguished Research Professor and Director of the Institute of African Studies at Emory University, will discuss the significant roles of women in Angola's history of slavery, focusing on their experiences with bondage, resistance, and violence. This seminar is organized by Ana Lucia Araujo, Professor of History at Howard University and Heinz Heinen Fellow at the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies. This seminar will be held in person only. Attendants must email Professor Araujo (see below) no later than May 30 to get the paper. All participants must read the paper and come prepared for discussion.
Walther Maradiegue and Sophia Labadi will discuss the sonic afterlives of heritagization in an indigenous Peruvian community, analyzing a Cañaris protest against the government's denial of their existence and land rights, arguing they challenge state recognition through performance and sound. The protest reenacts Tupac Amaru II’s 1781 execution alongside the state-recognized ‘Danza de los Guerreros Cascabeleros.’
'Justice for the individual and society' Prof. Dr. Claudia Jarzebowski will take part in the panel discussion of the Godesberg Talks, alongside Dominik Pinsdorf, honorary judge at the Bonn District Court and holder of the Federal Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, Jens Groß, drama director and Pastor Dr. Gianluca Carlin The demand for justice permeates our lives - from the schoolyard to inheritance. But what does justice mean when people's perceptions of it are so different? People have always fought for their rights and for what they consider to be fair. Every crisis raises the question of a fair society and the protection of our basic rights. The tension between individual feelings and social norms continues to shape our coexistence to this day. The event will be moderated by Dr. Ebba Hagenberg-Miliu
Join us on April 29th when Theresa Wobbe, BCDSS alumna, will discuss the recently published book “Sklaverei, Freiheit und Arbeit: Soziohistorische Beiträge zur Rekonfiguration von Zwangsarbeit,” edited by herself, Léa Renard, and Marianne Braig. The contributions in this volume systematically draw on Orlando Patterson's sociology of slavery and the European ideal of freedom. Against this background, the authors argue for a socio-historical approach to capture the dynamics of the different dependencies of slavery and labour. Theresa Wobbe will be joined by Claudia Jarzewobski, BCDSS Professor for Early Modern History and Dependency Studies, and Eva Marie Lehner, BCDSS Postdoctoral Researcher. During the book discussion, Theresa Wobbe, Claudia Jarzebowski and Eva Marie Lehner will aim to shed light on the intertwining of labour, freedom, and slavery by examining labour relations based on violence and coercion.
Join us on March 10th, 2025, from 14:00-16:00, for what is promising to be a powerful discussion on overcoming challenges related to gender identities within academia. The event aims to highlight the increasing presence of women in academia, demonstrate their strength and resilience in overcoming obstacles, and inspire younger academics who are embarking on their journeys in higher education. With Prof. Dr. Chioma Daisy Onyige and Prof. Dr. Natalie Joy, we have two senior academics at the BCDSS of international calibre, who are happy to share their personal experiences. They will be joined by two equally remarkable researchers and alumnae of the Center for International Development (ZEF): Dr. Rabia Chaudhry and Dr. Dennis Avilés Irahola. The discussion is moderated by PD Dr. Eva Youkhana (Senior Researcher, ZEF) and Cécile Jeblawei (Press & PR Manager, BCDSS). We call on representatives of all genders to take part. Men are particularly welcome to join the conversation!