L’IMAGE DU CONGO BELGE
dans l’opinion publique luxembourgeoise et ses répercussions sur l’interculturalité
The project studies the perception and knowledge of the Belgian Congo in the general public in Luxembourg and the ongoing influence of this perception in the multicultural society in Luxembourg today. It starts from the assumption that current dispositions and attitudes, including racism and discrimination, have many different origins, representations of the colonial past being one of them.
The study approaches the perceptions of colonialism and of the Belgian Congo in particular by analyzing press coverage in the years between 1890 and 1960, including Luxembourgish daily newspapers, illustrated weeklies, media of political interest groups, missionary leaflets, etc. Furthermore, it will consider selected media from the three neighbouring countries.
The analysis will focus on different fields of media coverage, comprising, i.a., reports on specific historical events and developments, information on Luxembourgish involvement in colonial enterprises, and contributions to general debates and public discourse on colonialism.
A second part of the PhD-project consists in studying the traces of colonial discourses in post-colonial Luxembourg. By concentrating on particular socio-political fields – including, for example, development aid and human rights movements – it expands the analysis to the study of oral history testimonies.
The study is being supervised by Dr. Elisabeth Boesen (Institute of History) and cooperates with the research project “Colonial History of Luxembourg” (COLUX) currently realized at the C2DH.
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