Racism-free encounters with the Other? Reflections from the Past and Present

Although Heinrich Barth (1821-1865) was the most important 19th-century explorer of Africa from a European perspective, he became quite forgotten posthumously, since his work did not support the contemporary imperialist ambitions and colonialist ideologies, usually legitimised by theories about race. As an outstanding theorist and practitioner of peaceful cooperation between Europeans and Africans, he therefore is an ideal figure to explore precolonial ideas and a respectiful encountering of the „Other“ on one hand, and its counterpart –imperialist rule and racialised suppression – on the other.

Expanding on the ideas developed by Professor Christoph Marx in his talk „Was Barth a racist?“, this roundtable discusses a series of aspects: How do we define racism or racist practice and what are the boundaries to discrimination based on other criteria of difference (Differenzkriterien)? Since when, historically, do we speak of racism and is racism an exclusive domain of Europeans? Can we think of practices of (nearly) racism-free encounterings of the other today, or how can we get there? Bringing together interdisciplinary experts on racism and racial justice on different world regions and periods including Africa, Europe, and the Americas we raise the important question: Can there ever be racism-free encounters on the ground and what can we do for it?

Programme