The lecture today begins with a brief account of the "Communist Manifesto". It's more of a historical treatise, less of an economic treatise. I discuss briefly the rhetorical power of the text, Marx's scathing indictment of the bourgeoisie, his sense of the limitless growth of the 'market'. 14 minutes into the lecture, we move into Africa and European expansion in Africa. We begin with a European map of Africa-- the "empty" and "dark" continent. Cartography was one of the technologies of the state. If the European has not been somewhere and named it, then the place does not exist. The late 19th century view of Africa has persisted into our times, as indicated by Lawrence Summers in 1991 when he wrote a memo describing Africa as "dangerously underpolluted". Through maps of Africa we trace the take-over of Africa by European powers and its colonization. How were the boundaries draw within Africa by European colonial cartographers? How did Europeans think about Africa and how do they think about it today? Sven Lindqvist, in his book 'Exterminate all the Brutes', suggests the relations between colonialism and the Holocaust. Unfortunately, there is no sound after 25:48.
Communist Manifesto,Marx and Hegel,the market,bourgeoisie,Africa as unexplored,Laurence Summers,dangerously underpolluted,Scramble for Africa,Exterminate all the Brutes,Europe and Africa,Sven Lindqvist,colonialism and cartography,
The lecture today begins with a brief account of the "Communist Manifesto". It's more of a historical treatise, less of an economic treatise. I discuss briefly the rhetorical power of the text, Marx's scathing indictment of the bourgeoisie, his sense of the limitless growth of the 'market'. 14 minutes into the lecture, we move into Africa and European expansion in Africa. We begin with a European map of Africa-- the "empty" and "dark" continent. Cartography was one of the technologies of the state. If the European has not been somewhere and named it, then the place does not exist. The late 19th century view of Africa has persisted into our times, as indicated by Lawrence Summers in 1991 when he wrote a memo describing Africa as "dangerously underpolluted". Through maps of Africa we trace the take-over of Africa by European powers and its colonization. How were the boundaries draw within Africa by European colonial cartographers? How did Europeans think about Africa and how do they think about it today? Sven Lindqvist, in his book 'Exterminate all the Brutes', suggests the relations between colonialism and the Holocaust. Unfortunately, there is no sound after 25:48.
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