Dr. Robert Kramm will hold the lecture "A Global History From the Margins: Communal Life in the Early Twentieth Century" on Wednesday, 27th October at the Institute for Asian and African Studies in Berlin. The lecture will take place at 6-8 pm in roo
Dr. Robert Kramm will hold the lecture "A Global History From the Margins: Communal Life in the Early Twentieth Century" on Wednesday, 27th October at the Institute for Asian and African Studies in Berlin. The lecture will take place at 6-8 pm in room 315, Invalidenstraße 118.
To register for this lecture please write to sea-transregional@hu-berlin.de.
This public lecture is organized in the framework of RePLITO: Beyond Social Cohesion - Global Repertories of Living Together, funded by the Berlin University Alliance.
Abstract
The first half of the twentieth century witnessed an increase in new forms of communal life all over the world. In African, American, Asian, European and Oceanian countries, in imperial metropoles and colonial peripheries alike, communes in various forms emerged and spread. Yet, despite being usually located at the geographical, political and social margins of modern society, these communes never existed in enclosed circles. They were rather both niche and hub for radicals, revolutionaries, and reformers. This talk discusses examples of radical utopian communities in early twentieth century Japan, South Africa and Jamaica, asks for their connections and similarities, and explores possibilities to narrate a decentered global history through an analysis of concepts and practices of communal life.
Short Bio
Robert Kramm is currently Freigeist Fellow of the VolkswagenStiftung in the School of History at LMU Munich. At LMU, he is the principal investigator of the research group “Radical Utopian Communities”, and a member of the Munich Centre for Global History and the Young Center of LMU’s Center for Advanced Studies.
