Exhibition in the Kulturwerk of the Stabi

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The IN_CONTEXT project has curated an exhibition in the Stabi’s Kulturwerk. The aim of the project is to show the diversity of the collections from colonial contexts and to initiate a discussion about how to deal with them in the digital space.

The first chapter provides an insight into the colonial collections: From colonial board games to magazines or printed material, there are a variety of publications that address colonialism. The second chapter takes a closer look at the personal papers of Hans Gruner (1865-1943). The papers of the colonial official contains diaries, photo collections, personal notes and letters with local rulers in Togo, which are shown in the exhibition. The third part invites visitors to enter into an exchange and ask whether and how sensitive content should be digitised and made freely accessible.

The exhibition runs from 11 September to spring 2025.

You can find more information here: https://stabi-kulturwerk.de/portfolio-item/in_context/

You can find the opening hours here: https://stabi-kulturwerk.de/besuch-planen/

IN_CONTEXT visits the Bodleian Libraries

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Following the visit of our colleagues from the “We are our History” (WOAH) project (Link to project) at the Bodleian Libraries (University of Oxford) in May 2024 (Link to blog), two representatives from the IN_CONTEXT project embarked on a three-day reciprocal visit in early July. The visit was also made possible by funding from the Berlin University Alliance (BUA).

During a joint workshop at the Weston Library, Lars Müller and John Woitkowitz discussed the IN_CONTEXT initiative, which focuses on the digitization of collections from colonial contexts and the development of a virtual research platform. Central to these discussions were the possibilities for contextualizing colonial historical collections and the importance of collaboration with source communities. Colleagues from the Bodleian Libraries presented the outcomes of the “We Are Our History” project and provided insights into their work on collection descriptions of manuscripts to make the entanglements of libraries in various colonial projects of European knowledge institutions more transparent.

Throughout our visit, three key areas of focus emerged. First, we engaged in in-depth discussions on the topic of digitization in both the Bodleian Libraries and the Berlin State Library, with particular emphasis on manuscripts from colonial contexts in Asia and Africa. A second focus was on questions surrounding digital presentation and storytelling formats. In this area, shared interests between the Bodleian’s Digital Discovery team, the SBB, as well as the Centre for Digital Scholarship and Stabi Labs became particularly evident. The third focus involved discussions on potential collaborations in provenance research or the shared colonial history of the institutions.

The program was rounded off with a guided tour of the historic buildings of the Bodleian Libraries and the Commonwealth and African Studies section of the Weston Library, as well as a city tour highlighting Oxford’s colonial entanglements. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to our colleagues at the Bodleian Libraries for organizing our visit and for the stimulating conversations.

The visit, supported by the BUA, deepened the exchange between both institutions and laid important foundations for future collaborations.

New publication: Colonial Contexts and Libraries

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The “IN_CONTEXT: Colonial Histories and Digital Collections”-project began its work at the Stabi in January 2023. In November 2023, the project team organised the workshop ‘Colonial Contexts in Libraries’  in cooperation with the dbv and the DZK in Berlin. The workshop marked the start of a series of activities to shed light on the topic of colonial contexts and libraries from a broad perspective. The idea of a guideline for dealing with colonial collections in libraries was also suggested here and the Colonial Contexts in Libraries working group was founded in the Colonial Contexts Network for this purpose. The first face-to-face meeting took place at BiblioCon2024 in June 2024.

Today we can report another milestone. o-bib has published the thematic focus ‘Colonial Contexts in Libraries’. In seven collaboratively written articles, colleagues from different libraries and fields of work have surveyed the field of colonial contexts in libraries and have taken different perspectives on the topic.

In their introduction, the coordinators of the thematic focus, Lars Müller, Michaela Scheibe and Larissa Schmid, outline the field of colonial contexts in libraries. They describe the current state of research and, based on this, define three main fields of action for libraries: collection development and indexing, provenance research and, finally, digitisation and ethical questions of collection representation.

The article coordinated by Jan Hüsgen and written by Irene Albers, Aïsha Othman, Meliné Pehlivanian, Thomas Richter and Schmid Andreas asks how the concept of colonial contexts can be applied to libraries.

The article, coordinated by Lars Müller and Michaela Scheibe, argues that provenance research on collections from colonial contexts is an important future field of action for libraries. In three case studies, Wiebke von Deylen, Hajo Frölich, Cordula Gumbrecht, Dominique Schwarb-Akoun and Jakob Wigand provide an insight into the challenges and opportunities of this work.

The article coordinated by Larissa Schmid looks at racism-critical approaches in library work. Case studies by Birgit Athumani Hango, Jantje Bruns, Birgit Kramreither, Maike Mewes and Moritz Strickert provide insights into the work of the Netzwerk koloniale Kontexte as well as the work of two different libraries.

Julia Zenker coordinated an article on the challenges of digitisation and the provision of materials from colonial contexts. Using case studies by Elke Brehm, Jana Kocourek, Karina Iwe and Anne Peiter, she argues in favour of a stronger integration of societies of origin.

The article coordinated by Romy Köhler follows on from digitalisation. Ingo H. Warnke, Maria Hermes-Wladarsch, Christoph Rauch and Stefanie Rühle provide different perspectives on the question of the role of metadata in creating transparency in the digital space.

The issue is complemented by an interview with colleagues from Cameroon, Kenya, Namibia and Sri Lanka. Albert Gouaffo, Werner Hillebrecht, Mutanu Kyany’a and Naazima Kamardeen offer different perspectives from the Global South on cultural assets that are relevant to them but held in German libraries and argue in favour of increased cooperation in this field.

 

We wish you an exciting read! If you have any questions on the topic, please feel free to contact the IN_CONTEXT project team at in_context@sbb.spk-berlin.de!

 

Link to the entire issue: https://www.o-bib.de/bib/issue/view/335

“We Are Our History” at the Stabi Berlin

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From May 14-16, 2024, the project IN_CONTEXT welcomed our colleagues Jasdeep Singh and Devika of “We Are Our History” (WAOH) at the Bodleian Libraries (University of Oxford) to the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (SBB). The project WAOH explores the Bodleian Libraries’ connections with the British history of imperialism and slavery. In addition to the collections of individual libraries of the University of Oxford, WOAH focuses in particular on working with the staff of the Bodleian Libraries and the wider community in the city of Oxford. Questions relating to acquisitions and a broader awareness of the close links between libraries, collections and the history of colonialism, moreover, are also important aspects of the project’s work. The exchange between the Bodleian Libraries and the SBB was made possible by funding from the Berlin University Alliance.

In Berlin, Jasdeep Singh and Devika were warmly welcomed by Julia Maas, Head of Reader Services, at the Potsdamer Straße branch of the SBB. The historical holdings on South Asia in the Oriental Department were of particular interest to WAOH. Before their arrival, Singh and Devika were able to discuss the history of the department and the holdings from colonial contexts with Christoph Rauch, Head of the Oriental Department. Colleagues Karin Druxes and Anett Krause from the DFG project “Qalamos” in Berlin made it possible to research catalogs of South Asian manuscripts on the SBB’s premises. In addition to the historical documents, it was also the designations and the classification of collections that drew the interest of our WOAH colleagues.

Foto im Stabi Lab der SBB mit "We Are Our History" und "IN_CONTEXT"

Devika, Larissa Schmid, Lars Müller, John Woitkowitz, and Jasdeep Singh. Photo: Emma Lesburgeres

In addition to working with the holdings of the Staatsbibliothek, it was a pleasure to bring together our colleagues  with other SBB staff and colleagues from the Special Information Service Social and Cultural Anthropology at HU Berlin, the NFDI4Memory, the Ada Lovelace Center for Digital Humanities (FU Berlin) and the Leibniz-Zentrums Moderner Orient. As part of a Stabi Lab workshop, we discussed topics related to the role of historical terms in the cataloging and classification of collections from colonial contexts. Which digitization priorities exist and which holdings are primarily accessible in digital collections? How can sensitive cultural objects be presented ethically and responsibly in digital collections?

Foto im Stabi Lab der SBB

Workshop “Stabi Lab Exchange with ‘We Are Our History’,” 15 May 2024. Photo: Emma Lesburgeres

In a Digital Thursday on May 16, 2024, Singh and Devika were also able to share the experiences and results of their project in Oxford with over 100 participants at the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation. They also reported on their impressions of the SBB and their work with the catalogs of the Oriental Department.

A short excursion to a remnant of the Berlin Wall at Potsdamer Platz also provided an opportunity to discuss the recent history of the Stabi Berlin in a divided Germany. The visit made clear how history and the organization of knowledge are closely intertwined and continue to reverberate to the present day. A guided tour of the Unter den Linden building also provided an intriguing look behind the scenes of the library.

We would like to thank Jasdeep Singh and Devika for a wonderful visit and the stimulating discussions. We would also like to thank our colleagues at the SBB and our Berlin colleagues for their participation and support throughout the visit.

We look forward to learning about the work of “We Are Our History” and the Bodleian Libraries in Oxford during a return visit in July.

IN_CONTEXT at Dahlem Humanities Center (Freien Universität Berlin)

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On April 24, 2024, Dr. Lars Müller and Dr. John Woitkowitz presented the project IN_CONTEXT: Colonial Histories and Digital Humanities in the series “Forschung im Dialog” at the Dahlem Humanities Center at the Freie Universität Berlin. Along with researchers from a range of disciplines they discussed questions surrounding the digitization of historical sources from colonial contexts and the potential of digital analytical methods when researching the history of European colonialism.

For more information about the event, click here.

Report on conference “Colonial Contexts in Libraries” published

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The report on the conference “Colonial Contexts in Libraries” held at the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin from November 6-7, 2023 has been published in the journal Zeitschrift für Bibliothekswesen und Bibliographie. Christiane Elster writes:

The … workshop succeeded in initiating a long-overdue debate within the German-speaking library community on how to deal with the colonial heritage.

We thank Christiane Elster for her thoughtful and engaging review of the conference.

 

Titelbild des Beitrags zum Interview von Larissa Schmid mit dem SPK-Magazin

Larissa Schmid interviewed by SPK-Magazin

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IN_CONTEXT project lead Larissa Schmid gave an interview to the magazine of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation about the plans and activities related to the topic of colonial contexts in libraries. Schmid discussed the challenges inherent in digitizing collections from colonial contexts, the role of communities from the global south as well as the successfull conference on “Colonial Contexts in Libraries” at the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin from November 6-7, 2023.

 

The full interview with Larissa Schmid can be accessed here.

Book Presentation – Worlds of Slavery

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On Friday, 23 February 2024, the book launch of „Worlds of Slavery“, edited by Paulin Ismard, took place at the Stabi, organised by the Friends of the Berlin State Library.

An international team of 70 specialised historians traced the history of slavery for this book: its beginnings in prehistory, its establishment in the ancient civilisations, the invention of the slave trade in ancient Greece, slavery as a matter of course in ancient Rome, how Judaism, Christianity and Islam dealt with slavery, the gradual transition from slavery to other forms of servitude in the European Middle Ages, the revival of the slave trade and slavery with European colonisation in Asia, Africa and America, the great period of the transatlantic slave trade until well into the 19th century. And they do not leave out slavery in China, Korea or the Islamic world.

The discussion featured the editor Prof Dr Paulin Ismard (University of Aix-Marseille), the author of the foreword Prof Dr Michael Zeuske (Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies, University of Bonn), Prof Dr Claudia Jarzebowski (Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies, University of Bonn), the coordinator of the translators’ collective Dr Esther von der Osten (FU Berlin) and the publisher Edmund Jakoby (Verlag Jacoby & Stuart). It was chaired by Dr Lars Müller (Stabi).

For further information see:https://shop.jacobystuart.de/shop/item/9783964281722/welten-der-sklaverei#; https://www.jacobystuart.de/buecher-von-jacoby-stuart/neuerscheinungen/welten-der-sklaverei/).

 

 

 

Reviews:

Claudia Jarzebowsky: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 14.02.2024, Nr. 38, p. 10 (https://fazarchiv.faz.net/faz-portal/document?uid=FAZ__FD0202402145010646446486).

 

Suzanne Krause in Andruck – das Magazin für Politische Literatur, 20.12.2021 (zur französischsprachigen Ausgabe) https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/paulin-ismard-hg-les-mondes-de-l-esclavage-une-histoire-compar-e-dlf-f06f2433-100.html

 

Digital Information Meeting: Research and Funding Opportunities in Germany

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IN_CONTEXT supports the digital meeting of the Network Colonial Contexts in Germany with a presentation about researching information in libraries. The aim of the meeting is to introduce the diverse and heterogeneous structural contexts in Germany, i. e. federalism, private and public funding organizations as well as individual programs that enable project participation or application by international project partners. On the one hand, participants will get the chance to learn about research tools in German institutions, museums, archives and on the other hand get an overview of the German funding landscape.

The Provenance of Literature – Joint seminar session with the FU Berlin

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The debate about provenance and restitution research is currently booming in museums – but the field is much broader, and some are already talking about a ‘provenancial turn’. While disciplines such as art history, ethnology, archaeology and book studies have developed methods of provenance research, questions of provenance in literary studies are still comparatively new. Andreas Schmid has therefore developed the seminar “The Provenance of Literature” at the Freie Universität Berlin.

In 2023, the project IN_CONTEXT: Colonial Histories and Digital Collections  researched the holdings related to colonial histories in the various departments of the Staatsbibliothek and identified, among other things, a number of papers belonging to civil servants, military personnel, researchers or people in general who travelled to or lived in European colonies. Among other things, the Stabi holds the papers of August Klingenheben (1886-1967), a linguist who focused his research on the Vai script/language and travelled to Liberia for this purpose. In addition to general research documents, his papers include collections of Vai proverbs and stories that have never been published in this form.

The Klingenheben papers in the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, SPK

 

In a joint seminar session we discussed the handling of these archival materials. In the first part, we looked at the acquisition and collecting contexts of Klingenheben: To what extent can we speak of a colonial context? What was Klingenheben’s interest in collecting? What was his relationship to the informants? Etc. In a second part, we focused on the story “The Leopard’s Daughter” and compared different versions published later (1961, 1988, 2008). What are the features that remained the same in all the versions? What has changed? Is it still the “same” story? Etc. The final discussion was about how Klingenheben’s papers should be handled today. Is digitisation ethical? Should more data be added about Klingenheben as a person, the informants or the context of the collection? Should people in Liberia be consulted about the appropriate handling of the Vai stories? Etc.

 

Seminar: Die Provenienz der Literatur. Die Überlieferung von August Klingenheben, FU Berlin/Stabi Berlin, January 11th, 2024, Andreas Schmid, Lars Müller.

 

Further Reading

Irene Albers, Andreas Schmid: Literatur als koloniale Beute? Für eine philologische Provenienzforschung, in: Deutsche Vierteljahrsschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Geisteswissenschaft 97 (2023), 1003–1018. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41245-023-00222-9.

Fatima Massaquoi: The Leopard‘s Daughter. A Folk Tale from Liberia translated from the VAI Language, Illustrations by Martha Burnham Humphrey, Boston 1961.

Ernst Dammann: August Klingenheben (1886–1967), in: Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 117(1967)2, 211–214.