Colonial Legacy Research Articles

Not for us? Vocational training in the social and policy space in Sierra Leone

PurposeThis paper explores the attractiveness of TVET in Sierra Leone, a post-conflict West African country. It aims to unpack structural factors which contribute to the low repute of TVET.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses qualitative interviews with employers, government and third sector organisations, focus group discussions with young Sierra Leoneans and analysis of key government policy documents. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data, and the empirical analysis is grounded in Social Learning Theory of Career Decision Making and Social Cognitive Career Theory. The paper is interdisciplinary, drawing on literature from economics, psychology, political science and development studies.FindingsThe paper argues that TVET is in low repute in Sierra Leone owing to low prioritisation by the national government in terms of policy focus, budgetary allocations and provision of training facilities; the proliferation and continuation of a post-war style of TVET programmes by development partners which initially targeted ex-combatants and thus carry reputational baggage; and colonial legacies of preferences for university education and white-collar jobs.Originality/valueThe research contributes to the academic and policy discourse by providing new empirical insights from an under-studied country (and region), and arguably one where evidence-based policy is much needed.

Defense Diplomacy and Civil-Military Relations in Bangladesh

In a democratic state, it is expected that a balance exists between civil and military power. While the military’s role has been traditionally defined as safeguarding a country’s national sovereignty and security, the modern concept of civil-military relations encapsulates a broader engagement of the military in advancing a country’s diplomacy as well. This article, taking the broader understanding into consideration, probes into the Bangladesh military’s expanding role. While civil-military relations went through much turbulence during the first few decades in Bangladesh’s history, with the restoration of democracy in 1991 the military has been one of the key participants in advancing defense diplomacy. Using several case studies, the article addresses vital questions such as the role of colonial legacies in Bangladesh’s military, how the military has gradually embedded itself in Bangladesh’s social, political, and economic milieu, and how unique civil-military relations have emboldened Bangladesh’s defense diplomacy.

Identity, Law and Agrarian Economy in India: Past and Present

The article discusses the contentious issue of agricultural reform in India, particularly focusing on the three Acts proposed by the ruling party in September 2021. These Acts aimed to revolutionize farming practices but faced significant opposition from agrarian communities nationwide, culminating in extensive protests and the eventual withdrawal of the bills. The debate surrounding these Acts delves into questions of agrarian identity and the historical construction of the farmer’s role, going back to colonial-era policies and their lasting impact. The article highlights the complex interplay between legal frameworks, social identities, and economic structures, emphasizing the transition of the farmer’s identity from a class-based to a caste-based construct. Through historical analysis and contemporary parallels, it explores how colonial legacies continue to shape agrarian politics and the ongoing struggle to define and protect the interests of farmers in India

Hunger

SummaryThis piece uses narrative forms from both Black horror and Fantastic literature to grapple with questions of haunting, grief, life in proximity to death, and uneven distributions of access and wealth within global capitalism. The blurring of the lines between the real and the surreal, typical of Fantastic literature, parallels the blurring of the lines between death caused by grief and death caused by the systemic neglect of poor, Black, marginalized folks around the world. As a piece of horror, the narrative deals with both the haunting of the main character by the loss of their sister and the haunting of the ongoing legacies of colonialism manifest as exploitative movements of wealth, resources, and people. While heavily ethnographically informed, this piece also seeks to evoke global theories of water, loss, memory, being, and ancestry. Bringing these common tropes within anthropology into interdisciplinary and transnational, conversations with Black Studies through fiction opens up different ways for anthropology to engage with zombification, both in its use as a critique of capitalist modes of production and in its use as a term for the living dead, or in this case the perpetual living on the edge of death within necropolitical systems.

Home, History, and the Postsecular: A Literary–Religious Inquiry of Disgrace

In J.M. Coetzee’s Disgrace, the postsecular emerges as a critical framework to understand the characters’ search for home amidst the remnants of South Africa’s colonial legacy. This essay proposes an exploration of how the novel’s engagement with the postsecular scriptures and moments offers a nuanced perspective on the religious impulse within the literary form. I focus on the protagonist, Lurie, whose journey from a sexual scandal to a commitment to animal welfare symbolizes a broader quest for redemption and atonement. Contrasting Lurie’s postsecular odyssey is his daughter Lucy’s steadfast attachment to her farm, which becomes a battleground for historical racial tensions. Through a mythological critical approach, I interpret Lucy’s experience as a contemporary iteration of the scapegoat, embodying the sacrificial role in a society seeking reconciliation and healing. My analysis extends to the novel’s esthetic and ethical dimensions, examining how Coetzee’s narrative challenges and reframes traditional religious narratives. By situating my discussion within the fields of the sciences of religions, theology, and mythology, I contribute to the understanding of literature as a vital medium for engaging with religious and theological themes. The essay concludes with a reflection on the implications of Coetzee’s postsecular discourse for the individual’s search for home and belonging in a post-apartheid context.

Racism Learnt and Unlearnt

For centuries, Africans migrated to India in different phases resulting in a significant presence of the African diaspora in this country. The term “African diaspora” gained currency only in the mid-nineteenth century in connection with the study of the people of African origin dispersed all over the world. But in countries like India, the African presence dates as far back as the period of the Indian Ocean slave trade. Historically, India and Africa have shared cordial political and economic relations. Their shared history of anti-colonial struggle, the mutual reverence for political leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, and India’s support for postapartheid South Africa might indicate the peaceful coexistence of Indians and Africans in present-day India. But the on the ground reality hits differently, as depicted in “The Shade of You” by Anushree Majumdar, published in Eleven Ways to Love: Essays by Penguin India. Majumdar thinks herself a modern and enlightened woman until she gets into a relationship with Bryan Ochieng, a Kenyan studying in Delhi. As she gradually explores her relationship with Bryan, she comes to know about different aspects of racism that the African diaspora faces in Delhi in a more intimate way. Getting mocked and ridiculed for dating a black man in the public space makes her critique the racist attitude of her fellow Delhiites. She realizes that Indians have deeply internalized the colonial legacy of racism and colorism. She understands that, since our very childhood, we embrace a culture informed by racist ideology unconsciously. Indians are satisfied with the tokenist acceptance of black culture by celebrating black footballers and pop artists, but they would never let African diasporic people come closer as family and friends. This mindset has sufficiently exoticized and otherized Africans in India. Her proximity to Bryan reveals to her how ignorant she has been about Bryan’s culture despite her love of selective parts of Kenyan culture. The presence of Bryan and his Kenyan friends in her life offers her moments of self-reflexivity. She comes to question how much she has been able to unlearn her racial prejudices, and the answer forces her to confront an aspect of her race–intolerant subjectivity so far buried under her conscious race-sensitive self. Her self-realization makes her feel uncomfortable and apologetic. She feels that the self-realization that has dawned upon her is not enough to help her in the unlearning process overnight. She fails to maintain a long-term relationship with Bryan given their seemingly unbridgeable cultural gap at that point in time. But Bryan’s entry into her life marks the beginning of her anti-racism journey in the true sense of the term and it continues. Years later, she finds that she has become a better version of herself who is no longer troubled by the hidden guilt and shame associated with her relationship with an African.

‘I Was Part of Minority Group’: Youth’s Attitude Towards Multiculturalism and Their Awareness of Being an Intercultural Citizen

ABSTRACT This study explored the Indonesian youth’s attitude towards multiculturalism and their awareness of being an intercultural citizen. The research methodology adopted a qualitative method with a questionnaire as the research instrument. The Indonesian youth come from varied backgrounds. Thematically, the data were analysed based on race, ethnic, religious and other cultural issues particularly attitudes towards multicultural state, diversity and awareness of being an intercultural citizen. The findings provided that the youths’ attitudes are quite varied and tend to have a positive attitude towards a broad concept of multiculturalism, whilst when the concept provides real-life cases, there is a possibility for them to respond negatively. The youths also have significant awareness in responding to the idea of coexisting in diversity, however, there is a possibility to reject the concept of intercultural citizen and have a positive attitude towards a multicultural state at the same time. Thus, some factors might affect youth’s attitudes towards multiculturalism which are colonial legacy, political situation, deeply embedded concept of native inhabitants and socio-religious issues. Ultimately, the backgrounds of the youth need to be considered as those have a big influence on the way they see and define both concepts.

Africa's Portrayal in African-American Writing

The depiction of Africa in African-American literature constitutes a nuanced and dynamic exploration, unveiling the intricate rapport between African-American writers and the African continent. Over centuries, Africa's portrayal has assumed myriad forms, serving as a symbolic homeland, a locus of struggle, and a wellspring of cultural inspiration. Imbued within these representations is a profound quest for identity and a yearning for belonging. Prestigious African-American authors, including Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Maya Angelou, adeptly interlace African culture, folklore, and history into the tapestry of their works. In so doing, they delve into themes of heritage, resilience, and cultural pride, presenting Africa not merely as a nostalgic ideal but as a vibrant tapestry of traditions intricately shaping the African-American experience. This representation transcends sentimentality, offering a palpable connection to ancestral roots and cultural heritage. Yet, the portrayal of Africa in African-American literature transcends idyllic visions of a distant homeland. Renowned authors such as Toni Morrison, Chinua Achebe, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie confront the harsh realities of colonization, slavery, and oppression in their narratives. In their hands, Africa becomes a complex terrain of struggle and resistance, where characters grapple with the enduring legacies of colonialism and the intricate dynamics of post-colonial identity. The representation of Africa in African-American literature reflects broader historical and political dynamics. During the Harlem Renaissance, there was a surge of interest in Pan-Africanism, as African-American writers actively sought connections with counterparts on the continent in the fight against racism and imperialism. This period witnessed an embrace of African art, literature, and culture, as writers sought to reclaim and celebrate their African heritage.

Protectors or Enforcers?

This essay examines the complex relationship between contemporary law enforcement practices and Black, Indigenous, and racialized communities in Canada, focusing on hyper-masculine subcultures and militarized tactics. Using case studies, such as the death of Ejaz Chaudry and the criminalization of Wet'suwet'en land defenders, this paper analyzes the historical and colonial roots shaping policing practices. The study finds persistent over-policing and discriminatory practices on marginalized communities, emphasizing the urgent need for reform. Exploring the interplay of hyper-masculinity, militarization, and colonial biases, the essay discusses how symbols like the thin blue line contribute to an 'us versus them' mentality, reinforcing militaristic culture. The transnational dimensions of police militarization, influenced by historical and contemporary ties to settler-colonial practices, reveal how shared colonial legacies contribute to the perpetuation of militaristic approaches in law enforcement. Cases like Chaudry and Wet'suwet'en land defenders highlight the devastating consequences of militarized responses, urging comprehensive reforms. This essay acknowledges that while guardian approaches are more favorable in lieu of the outdated warrior mindset, the former community-oriented models still possess limitations. Despite this recognition, the essay contributes to the discourse on redefining policing practices, rebuilding community relations, and fostering a more just, equitable, and community-focused future in law enforcement.

Memorialisation and Identity in Mahé, India: Revealing French Colonial Legacies

Memorialisation and Identity in Mahé, India: Revealing French Colonial Legacies

Identity categories and colonial legacies in the British urban space

ABSTRACT This article advances conceptual debates regarding identity and marginalisation in valuable ways and informs methodological improvements for representation within data collection systems. It discusses findings from a study exploring the inclusion – and exclusion – of identity categories within official data collection exercises. A theme that emerged from the research was how intricacies present within the lived experiences of ethno-linguistic groups can be ignored through the application of broad – and more politically visible – identity categories, such as Muslim. Furthermore, some participants felt that identity categories were discouraged based on colonial legacies and British government priorities for diplomatic relations. One such identity category discussed here is Kashmiri, which despite an ongoing campaign for official recognition, remained absent from the list of ethnic categories used for quantifying populations in the United Kingdom. Furthermore, within the research findings, Somalis and Pashtuns were also highlighted as groups, who despite being recognised as distinct communities within the urban space and thus acknowledged categories of practice in daily interactions within neighbourhoods in the UK, remain ‘unofficial’.

“Going beyond the call of duty”: academic agency and promoting transformation for sustainability in higher education

Purpose In the past decade, against increasing global inequality, higher education has grappled with increased demands for social justice, transformation and decolonisation. While a lot of research in South Africa has focused on the (im)possibilities of fostering racial, gendered, socio-economic and cultural change, the connection of such change to questions of sustainability has been less explored. The purpose of this paper is to specifically explore the agency of academics to foster transformative initiatives for sustainability within the context of institutions historically serving under-represented populations. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative methodology, this paper highlights the importance of considering sustainability in processes of transformation. This paper is specifically interested in how academic faculty and those in assigned leadership positions view their agency in relation to promoting transformation for sustainability at the institutional level. Drawing on data generated from semi-structured interviews with 13 participants at an historically Black university in South Africa, this paper details academics' and leaders’ experiences and perceptions of their agency. Findings This study reveals the adverse interactional dynamics within higher education institutions, which negatively impact academics’ participation as key agents in change processes. Positional and identity challenges faced reveal the persistence of colonial and apartheid legacies of racism, sexism, Afrophobia and xenophobia – which casts a shadow on possible trajectories of transformation and sustainability. This has serious implications for the common good, given South Africa's regional import for knowledge production and decolonisation within universities; its key role in the African 2063 Agenda; and the wider global Sustainable Development agenda. Originality/value This study highlights insufficient engagement with the sustainability of transformation efforts within the context of South Africa. This study also emphasises the relation between transformation imperatives and racial, socio-economic, gender and epistemic justice imperatives of sustainable development.

Reframing Fashion in the Exhibition Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse

The exhibition Lee Alexander McQueen: Mind, Mythos, Muse (2022) reexamined the British fashion designer’s oeuvre by contextualizing select Alexander McQueen designs within art history. Juxtaposing permanent collection works that spanned media, eras, and cultures with McQueen’s fashions, curators explored the cyclical nature of inspiration against the backdrop of appropriation in art history. As evidenced in his powerful collections, McQueen’s artistic process ranged from thoughtful research and examination to Eurocentric revisions that were both critical of and at times complicit in the legacies of colonialism. This analysis of McQueen’s artistic intent and process initially sought to uncover new frameworks for understanding the designer; however, the thematic conversations between encyclopedic objects also yielded new and unexpected insights for the museum’s non-dress and textile art collections. Investigating McQueen’s fashion collections through a broader art-historical lens enabled significant and mutually beneficial dialogues between both dress and non-dress art historians.

Colonial legacies and the British geological survey in cold war South Asia: 1960s–1980s

ABSTRACT This article explores change and continuity in the institutional objectives and actions of the British Geological Survey across independent South Asian countries, namely India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Ceylon/Sri Lanka, and Burma/Myanmar. By focusing on this geographical space from the 1960s, the article tells a political tale of adjustment, in which the colonial background of the British presence in the region was overlain by the Cold War foreground of international competition. The Geological Survey had the required pedigree to prolong the British presence in important technical arenas of these emerging nation-states, albeit within the redefined parameters of development, overlapping interests, and competing benefits. The article sketches the Survey’s history of exchange and collaboration across South Asian countries (except Bhutan), as its projects adapted to national preferences and global pressures. It traces how and why its proposals prioritised certain interactions over others and tracks the ways-and-means through which it pursued geological and attendant commercial aims. The article also attempts to situate these interplays within regional and ideological frames, within which politically conscious technocrats sought capital and influence to reorient earth science objectives so that these could simultaneously accrue national products and generate neo-colonial prestige.

From rupture to disruptive innovation: the colonial subcontinent’s ‘Devil’s Wind’; the Mughal Bagh (garden) and the English-style public park

ABSTRACT Set against the backdrop of the 1857 uprising against British colonial rule in the Indian subcontinent, the article examines the impact of this tumultuous event on the Mughal era Bagh (garden). The uprising, while causing a sudden and unprecedented rupture in the subcontinent’s political, cultural and urban landscape, also led to a form of disruptive innovation that displaced the well-established Bagh, a private space for leisure or veneration of the deceased, by a novel garden type, an English-style public park. More often than not, this new garden type emerged from remodelling the Bagh, to result in a Bagh-turned-Public Park. This innovative venture not only physically replaced the original Bagh but also changed the notion of leisure from the Mughal-to-the-metropole-inspired variant. Concurrently, this landscape endeavour served the agenda of empire to stamp British authority. To make its case, the city of Delhi, whose large corpus of Mughal- era Baghs underwent remodelling, is selected. As the epicentre of the uprising, Delhi was the recipient of the colonial regime’s spatially tumultuous military and civic interventions to turn it into a tamed modern city, among whose new spatial icons was the English-style public park. Two gardens are examined to demonstrate the rupture and disruptive innovation, as colonial civic actors overlaid an English-style landscape on the Bagh. This seemingly innocuous landscape intervention was as disruptive and efficacious as its spatially violent military counterpart in transforming Delhi into a colonial modern city. The article concludes by taking stock of the Bagh-turned-Public Park in the present as a colonial legacy that continues to be an integral part of the leisure landscape of Indian cities.

Blurring the line? Music, sound and “sonic gaze” in post-ceasefire Troubles-themed film

This article appraises developments in soundtracks of narrative fiction features based on the Northern Ireland Troubles, focusing on selected titles released in the post-ceasefire period that was consolidated by the Anglo-Irish (“Good Friday”) agreement of 1998. It does this with reference to earlier approaches to music and sound for Troubles-themed film, and by drawing on Danijela Kulezic-Wilson’s sound-design-is-the-new-score proposition. The article advances “sonic gaze” as a pertinent critical lens through which to complement artistic appraisals of historical and contemporary soundtracks in light of political and colonial contexts and legacies. In comparison to earlier Troubles-themed film, a small number of narrative fiction features from the turn of the twenty-first century propose alternative positions and/or innovations in their overall sound design. Readings of Resurrection Man (Marc Evans, 1998), Hunger (Steve McQueen, 2008), Five Minutes of Heaven (Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2009) and ’71 (Yann Demange, 2014) interpret several significant soundtrack developments. These arise from the involvement of popular music producers, notably David Holmes, technological affordances (production and postproduction) and alternative artistic perspectives that interrupted a colonial-anthropological sonic gaze. The article concludes that Hunger comes closest to Liz Greene and Kulezic-Wilson’s theorisations on the integrated soundtrack and on narrative film’s potential for achieving a holistic audiovisual musicality.

Cultural Hybridity and Identity Crisis in The Inheritance of Loss

This paper explores the themes of cultural hybridity and identity crisis in Kiran Desai’s novel, The Inheritance of Loss. Set in post-colonial India and the United States, the novel delves into the lives of characters who navigate the complexities of hybrid identities and the resulting psychological turmoil. Through a detailed analysis of characters such as Sai, Jemubhai Patel, and Biju, the study examines how colonial legacies and global influences shape their fragmented identities. The socio-political backdrop of the Gorkhaland movement further enriches the narrative, highlighting the interconnectedness of individual and collective struggles for recognition and self-definition. This paper underscores the importance of understanding the multifaceted nature of identity in a globalized world and the ongoing impact of colonial histories on contemporary identities.

Global Reparations within Capitalism: Aspirations and Tensions in Contemporary Movements for Reparatory Justice

ABSTRACTThe idea of global reparations has received increasing attention in recent years, not only with respect to legacies of slavery and colonialism, but also to interrelated issues such as climate change, debt crisis, or ongoing financial transfers from the Global South to the Global North. This article, which introduces and sets the Debate for the 2024 Forum issue on the political economy of 21st century global reparations, offers a critical perspective on contemporary global reparations agendas, including their macroeconomic and development implications for the Global South. It highlights the contentious, unresolved questions about how reparations movements should interact with the highly unequal structures of global capitalism. To what degree should they seek large redistributive gains within these structures, or else aim for more revolutionary standpoints which reject these structures? If the former, would this compromise any hope for reparations to be truly transformative and able to address the challenges presented by global white supremacy? The hope of reparations movements is to make progressive gains that could become the catalyst for more transformative changes on a global scale. At the same time, sympathetic critics question whether reparations are feasible or should be a primary focus of advocacy for achieving racial and climate justice on national as well as global levels. In outlining these points of debate, the article also considers the questions of how to make global reparations work for recipients, and how to finance them. It concludes by elaborating on the challenge of moving towards a more developmentalist emphasis of ‘systemic reparations’.

Whiteness and the Animal Question: Revisiting Coetzee's Postapartheid South Africa

Abstract: Scholars such as Evan Mwangi argue that postcolonial animal studies is all too often considered through white environmentalist perspectives, a point exemplified by the critical focus on white perspectives provided by writers such as J. M. Coetzee, Barbara Gowdy, and Lauren Beukes. Such focus bestows the authority to care for African natures to (white) Western visions of worldmaking. Mwangi's criticism suggests the white environmental discourses that have informed prominent readings of Disgrace (1999). The uncritical discourse of animal welfare in the post-colony has ties to apartheid governance and its rhetorical legacy. Through a comparative reading of Coetzee's Disgrace , the rhetoric of euthanasia used by animal welfare organizations, and contemporary reporting on the state of the animal, I outline a historical centering of white environmentalism—in particular welfarism—in institutional South African discourses about the animal. In opposition to assertions that the animal becomes a vehicle of redemption for the main character, David Lurie, and other redemptive readings of white characters in the novel such as Bev Shaw, I suggest that Disgrace reveals the legacies of white nationalist imaginaries that continue to undergird state and institutional environmental discourses in South Africa. The purportedly humane ideologies of animal population control and welfare perpetuate white interests. Disgrace reveals the tension between institutional expressions of care and the forceful integration of postcolonial nations into global markets, which sustain colonial legacies of white worldmaking.

Enhancing water protection on Tribal lands

Multiple rulemaking iterations have led to variable definitions of the “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS), a rule that determines which waterbodies receive federal protection under the Clean Water Act. The rulemaking process has incorporated American Indian Tribes as “stakeholders” rather than as sovereign peoples, compounding a colonial legacy that limits the ability of Indigenous peoples to choose appropriate strategies for water protection on Tribal lands. For example, protecting waters for Tribal beneficial uses requires applying both Western science and Indigenous knowledge to document patterns of waterbody connectivity and permanence, which underpin WOTUS policy. To honor the federal trust responsibility (a legal obligation) of the US Government to Tribes, policy should incorporate a parallel set of scientific standards for determining WOTUS on Tribal lands. These standards must recognize culturally distinct uses of waters and account for place‐based Indigenous knowledge. Examination of the intersection of the science supporting water protection, Indigenous sovereignty, and US policy has relevance to similar issues around the globe.