Nineteenth and early-twentieth century colonialism shaped the modern world in fundamental ways, with effects that are still with us today. By the 1930s,聽more than a third of the world population had been incorporated聽in formal imperial systems whose creation, maintenance and expansion was characterized by structural material and symbolic violence 鈥� the physical violence of conquest and of colonial rule, and the daily experience of suppression and cultural subordination of indigenous peoples. In settler-colonial areas such as 聽Australia, the United States, external intrusion and聽聽the 聽forced 聽鈥渞emoval鈥� of indigenous peoples led to catastrophic human ecology crises and demographic collapses. In others, such as Algeria, colonial violence coupled with severe ecological impacts led to mass deaths. The Japanese empire鈥檚 expansion in China was likewise characterized by unspeakable mass violence. Since Hannah Arendt鈥檚 Origins of Totalitarianism the question of colonial genocide has been much debated. There were genocidal tendencies in colonial expansion but is genocide a relevant category of analysis in the colonial context? 聽聽
The George聽and Irina Schaeffer Center for the Study of Genocide, Human Rights and Conflict Prevention聽has asked聽Olivier聽Lecour Grandmaison, a distinguished specialist of French colonial history, to address this question as well as the ways in which colonial history continues to shape the present. 聽
Prof. Lecour Grandmaison is a political scientist, historian and political philosopher at the Universit茅 d鈥橢vry. He has聽published four important books on different dimensions of the French colonial聽experience: Coloniser. Exterminer. Sur la guerre et l鈥橢tat colonial, (Fayard, 2005); La R茅publique imp茅riale. Politique et racisme d鈥橢tat, (Fayard, 2009); De l鈥檌ndig茅nat. Anatomie d鈥檜n 芦 monstre 禄 juridique: le droit colonial en Alg茅rie et dans l鈥檈mpire fran莽ais, (Zones/La D茅couverte, 2010); L鈥橢mpire des hygi茅nistes. Vivre aux colonies, (Fayard, 2014). 聽
Convener and moderator: Philip Golub (AUP)聽
Discussants: 聽Michelle Kuo聽(AUP) 聽and Miranda Spieler聽聽(AUP)
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