Troubling Archives

Namibia’s colonial history casts a long shadow over the country’s present. Contemporary authors and artists confront the legacies of German and South African colonial rule and engage creatively with the persistent remnants of the past. In their works, the archive remains both an invaluable and fraught resource for accessing obscured histories. Julia Rensing examines how writers and artists from Namibia and South Africa navigate archival silences, omissions, and power structures to renegotiate historical narratives and address intergenerational trauma. Their creative practices challenge conventional understandings of archives and forms of commemoration, highlighting the diverse experiences that shape Namibian society and memory cultures.

Julia Rensing, geb. 1991, ist Postdoktorandin und Dozentin am Zentrum für Afrikastudien an der Universität Basel. In ihrer Forschung untersucht sie, wie Archive zur alternativen Produktion von Wissen genutzt werden und wie künstlerische Praktiken Diskurse über (De)kolonialität und Erinnerung prägen. Sie ist Mitglied von freiburg-postkolonial.