Colonial Representations of British India: A Description and Analysis of the First Twenty-Four Issues of The Indian Amateur’s Photographic Album

This thesis provides a description and analysis of the first twenty four issues of the Indian Amateur's Photographic Album (IAPA), serially published between 1856 and 1858, in the collection of George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film (GEH). The thesis traces the origins of the publication to the creation of the Bombay Photographic Society, and considers its relationship with European photographic societies and a similar publication in Europe. It contains an extensive literature survey summarizing the current state of research on the IAPA within the framework of colonialist photography in British India: a detailed description of the publication and an analysis of the photographic and written components of the IAPA; and a consideration of the IAPA's contributions to and its role in the visual culture of nineteenth century India. Three appendices accompany the thesis, including an annotated and fully illustrated catalogue of the seventy-two photographs in GEH album.

Colonial Representations of British India: A Description and Analysis of the First Twenty-Four Issues of The Indian Amateur’s Photographic Album

This thesis provides a description and analysis of the first twenty four issues of the Indian Amateur's Photographic Album (IAPA), serially published between 1856 and 1858, in the collection of George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film (GEH). The thesis traces the origins of the publication to the creation of the Bombay Photographic Society, and considers its relationship with European photographic societies and a similar publication in Europe. It contains an extensive literature survey summarizing the current state of research on the IAPA within the framework of colonialist photography in British India: a detailed description of the publication and an analysis of the photographic and written components of the IAPA; and a consideration of the IAPA's contributions to and its role in the visual culture of nineteenth century India. Three appendices accompany the thesis, including an annotated and fully illustrated catalogue of the seventy-two photographs in GEH album.

HIDDEN DEBATES OVER THE STATUS OF THE CASAMANCE DURING THE DECOLONIZATION PROCESS IN SENEGAL: REGIONALISM, TERRITORIALISM, AND FEDERALISM AT A CROSSROADS, 1946–62

The article studies the contexts in which the idea of a separation of the Casamance from the rest of Senegal arose during the process of decolonization. The idea was an outgrowth of colonial representations forged since the end of the nineteenth century. It was first formulated by the French authorities in secret discussions with the representatives of the Casamance in the context of the 1958 referendum. It was taken over by local political leaders who saw it as a possible answer to the debates over representation that arose in the post-war process of democratization, and later by proponents of political mobilization at the sub-regional level after independence. By examining this little-known moment of possibility, the article shows that the claims of the current armed independence movement are in fact part of a longer, more ambivalent history in which a separatist imaginary of the Casamance took shape.

Colonial representations of Macao and the Macanese: Circulation, knowledge, identities and challenges for the future

This article intends to contribute towards the study of harbour cities, reflecting on the circulation of things and people, matters associated with national borders and multiple identities that cross paths there. Considering the history of Macao, its relationship with the Portuguese colonial empire and the challenges posed to the Macanese identity, this article intends to analyse representations of Macao and the Macanese produced in Portugal during the colonial period, considering some of them may still have repercussions today. Representations in generally accessed documents, such as the periodical press, will be analysed, as will events, such as great exhibitions, that were directed to a broader audience and which were frequently incorporated into colonial propaganda. By realizing that even today the movement towards the internationalization of Macao and China itself also involves Portugal, one concludes this is an interesting place for reflecting on power strategies, the circulation of individuals and the formation of identities.

Representing Timor: Histories, geo-bodies, and belonging, 1860s–2018

This article provides an outline of the historical construction of Timorese (East Timorese and Indonesian West Timorese) geo-bodies and communal identities from the mid-nineteenth century to the present time, thereby reconstructing the origins of many national imaginings amongst the Timorese people. Since the controversial annexation of Portuguese Timor by Indonesia in 1976, (East) Timor has been constructed as a place of two territorial identities: Timor as a part of Indonesia and East Timor as a homogeneous nation distinct from Indonesia. However, representations of Timor had been much more fluid and inconsistent in preceding ages. This article studies various communities’ representations of Timor to reveal dialectic relations between diverse colonial and post-colonial representations of the Timorese spaces and their senses of belonging. Thereby, it problematises the political role of global and regional place-making in a contested Southeast Asian locale.

An Eye for an Eye: the Hapticality of Collaborative Photo-Performance in Native Women of South India

This article examines the haptic politics of the Native Women of South India: Manners and Customs (2000–2004) ‘theatre museum’ composed by Indian performance artist Pushpamala N. and British photographer Clare Arni. Through a transnational collaboration, Native Women re-creates a visual genealogy of ‘popular’ Indian women images, reckoning with legacies of colonial and photographic studio photography. The article focuses on the engagements of Native Women with colonial representations of ‘the native’ (woman) in particular and asks: How does a transnational project resituating colonial ethnographic practices inform feminist performance methodologies? How does this photo-performance develop a haptic attempt at transnational solidarity? In what ways do haptic entanglements with photo-performance constitute new imaginations for collaborative practices? The article repositions Native Women as a performance work that reflects collaboration as a process of political intimacy.