Colonial Heritage and Urban Transformation in the Global South: Excavating the Ruins of Cape Town's Rebirth PDF
Preview Colonial Heritage and Urban Transformation in the Global South: Excavating the Ruins of Cape Town's Rebirth
Studies in Art, Heritage, Law and the Market 2 Christian Ernsten Colonial Heritage and Urban Transformation in the Global South Excavating the Ruins of Cape Town’s Rebirth Studies in Art, Heritage, Law and the Market Volume 2 SeriesEditors RachelPownall,SchoolofBusinessandEconomics, MaastrichtUniversity,Maas- tricht,TheNetherlands Ana Quintela Ribeiro Neves Ramalho, Faculty of Law, Maastricht University, Maastricht,TheNetherlands Christoph Rausch, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Maastricht University, Maastricht,TheNetherlands Hildegard Schneider, Faculty of Law, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands Vivian van Saaze, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht,TheNetherlands Renée van de Vall, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht,TheNetherlands LarsvanVliet,FacultyofLaw,MaastrichtUniversity,Maastricht,TheNetherlands Donna Yates , Faculty of Law, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands AdvisoryEditors BertDemarsin,KULeuven,Leuven,Belgium Hester C. Dibbits, Department of History, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotter- dam,TheNetherlands PattyGerstenblith,DePaulUniversity,Chicago,IL,USA SusanLegêne,VUAmsterdam,Amsterdam,TheNetherlands PeggyLevitt,DepartmentofSociology,WellesleyCollege,Wellesley,MA,USA SimonMackenzie, FacultyofHumanities andSocial Sciences,VictoriaUniversity ofWellington,Wellington,NewZealand Olav J. M. Velthuis, Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences, University of Amsterdam,Amsterdam,TheNetherlands AndreaWallace,LawSchool,UniversityofExeter,Exeter,UK MatthiasWeller,DepartmentofLaw,UniversityofBonn,Bonn,Germany ThebookseriesStudies inArt,Heritage,LawandtheMarketprovidesaninterna- tionalandinterdisciplinaryforumforvolumesthat (cid:129) investigatelegal,economic,andpolicydevelopmentsrelatedtoarts,heritage,and intellectualproperty; (cid:129) criticallyassesshowandforwhomartandheritagevaluescomeabout; (cid:129) promote novel forms of user engagement, participatory presentations, and digi- talizationofartsandheritage; (cid:129) examine theprocessesthattransformcultural objectsandpracticesintoartsand heritage;and (cid:129) highlightnewapproachesinpreservationandconservationscience. Theseriesaddressesaneedforresearchandpracticeinthefieldsofart,culture, conservation,andheritageincludingafocusonlegalandeconomicaspects.Itdeals withcomplexissuessuchasquestionsofauthenticityandprovenance;forgeryand falsification;theillicittrade,restitution,andreturnofculturalobjects;thechanging rolesofmuseums;therolesofexpertsandexpertise;andtheethicsoftheartmarket. Moreinformationaboutthisseriesathttp://www.springer.com/series/16197 Christian Ernsten Colonial Heritage and Urban Transformation in the Global South ’ Excavating the Ruins of Cape Town s Rebirth ChristianErnsten DepartmentofHistory FacultyofArtsandSocialSciences, MaastrichtUniversity Maastricht,TheNetherlands ISSN2524-7425 ISSN2524-7433 (electronic) StudiesinArt,Heritage,LawandtheMarket ISBN978-3-030-85805-6 ISBN978-3-030-85806-3 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85806-3 ©TheEditor(s)(ifapplicable)andTheAuthor(s),underexclusivelicensetoSpringerNatureSwitzerland AG2021 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsaresolelyandexclusivelylicensedbythePublisher,whether thewholeorpartofthematerialisconcerned,specificallytherightsoftranslation,reprinting,reuseof illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similarordissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. Theuseofgeneraldescriptivenames,registerednames,trademarks,servicemarks,etc.inthispublication doesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfromtherelevant protectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. The publisher, the authors, and the editorsare safeto assume that the adviceand informationin this bookarebelievedtobetrueandaccurateatthedateofpublication.Neitherthepublishernortheauthorsor theeditorsgiveawarranty,expressedorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinorforany errorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.Thepublisherremainsneutralwithregardtojurisdictional claimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations. ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG. Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland For Adriaan (1952–2020) Preface ThecomingtofruitionofthisbookonCapeTownistheresultofacreativeprocess thatisreallyjustasuccessionofmagnificentcoincidences.Thishaphazardtrajectory ofmomentsandmeetingsstartedwhenIwasstillagraduatestudentattheUniversity ofCapeTown(UCT)in2005. Sometimeinearly2005,onourwaytoaused-cardealership,Ihadaconversation with Ntone Edjabe, a friend of my housemates. When he heard that I planned to studyAfricanStudiesattheUCT,headvised(orperhapswarned)mefirsttoreada 1998textbytheUgandanscholarMahmoodMamdani,entitled“IsAfricanStudies toBeTurnedintoaNewHomeforBantuEducationatUCT?”Edjabe,whoIlater learned was the founding editor of the extraordinary Chimurenga Magazine, gave meexactlythenudgeIneededtosetmeonthepathforanincredibleexperienceat thisuniversity. The“Mamdani debate”,asitbecameknown,seemedtocuttotheveryheart of scholarship about Africa atthe time. The intellectual conversation—predominately between this Ugandan scholar, who was appointed as the chair of the Centre for AfricanStudies(CAS)atUCTin1996,andSouthAfricanarchaeologistandfellow UCT faculty member Martin Hall—demonstrated in clear ways the complex rela- tionship between power and knowledge and the contestations surrounding curricu- lumtransformationwithinAfricanstudiesinpost-apartheidSouthAfrica(Mamdani 1999).CommentatorIsaacA.Kamolaobservedthatthedebatetookplaceatatime when UCT was self-marketing as a “world-class African university”. Instead of conformingtosomeglobalstandard,however,Mamdani’sargumentinsistedupona newtypeofAfricanexcellence.ThedebateendedwithMamdani’ssuspensionfrom hispositionaschair. Likemanybeforeme,IwasimpressedbyUCT,oneoftheoldestuniversitieson thecontinent.AtthattimeastatueofBritishimperialistCecilRhodes,whogifteda sectionofhisGrooteSchuurestatein1829toestablishwhatwouldlaterbecomethe universitygrounds,stilloccupiedaplinthabovethestepsinfrontoftheuniversity’s mainhall.WhenIenteredCASasayounggraduatestudentin2005,theMamdani debate felt far away. The department felt vibrant and driven by a transformative agenda. Archaeologist Nick Shepherd (who was later to become my supervisor), vii viii Preface architect Noeleen Murray and historians Ciraj Rassool and Leslie Witz from the University of the Western Cape (UWC) were all progressive thinkers who were involvedinteachingatCASatthetime. ThecombinedscholarlyeffortsofRassool,Witz,andShepherdtooktheformof the Project of Public Pasts (POPP) and were directed at problematizing both the archive and the disciplines fundamental to representations of public history. Their critiquewasaimedataspecifickindofknowledgeproductioninthepublicdomain. It notonly challenged thestandardanalytical categories within theacademy,but it also undermined the dominant historical discourse vocalized outside the university by the institutions of the new South African state and other agencies. While the POPPhassinceceasedtoexist,theworkofthesescholarsofhistory,aswellasthat ofanthropologistStevenRobins,remainsformativeformyresearch. CASalsohasagallerythathostedgreatdebatesandexhibitedinterestingartwork while I was a student there. An exhibition that really guided my thinking on the relationshipbetweenvisualsandtextwasentitledTheModelMan:TheHeroofhis OwnDrama(2004).ThisexhibitionconsistedofillustrationsandtextbyartistJohan Schönfeldt,writerIvanVladislavić,andliteraryscholarAndriesWalterOliphant.It presentedcertainiconographicimagesandanaccompanyingstoryline.Ratherthan the normalprocedure, in this exhibition, the narrative was written after the images were made. I was intrigued by the idea, articulated in the exhibition brochure, of objectsasan“augmentationtospeech”andbySchönfeldt’sremarkthatthehistory ofAfricanoralsocietiesisconstructedfromobjects.Ifoundhisquestion:“Inspeech, when does a speaker revert to visuals?” particularly useful for describing my early fascinationwithheritageandurbandesigninCapeTown. Later, when preparing for my PhD research, I would meet Vladislavić. This author’s fiction writing on cities and on photography, especially The Restless Supermarket (2001), The Exploded View (2004), and TJ/Double Negative (2011), guidedmylaterthinkingandwriting.Hisco-editedworkwitharchitectHiltonJudin, Blank—Architecture, Apartheid and After (1999), is still a seminal work on SouthAfricancities. TheinvaluablesuggestionthatIreadfictionwhiledoingresearchcamefromNick Shepherd, whom I mentioned earlier. As a graduate student in archaeology and English literature, Shepherd worked for fiction writer J. M. Coetzee, who was a professoratUCTatthetime, ontheresearchfor White Writing:On theCultureof LettersinSouthAfrica(1988).IreadthisworkandothertitlesbyCoetzee,butIalso readAndréBrink,ZakesMda,NadineGordimer,andotherswhoIfeltwererelevant intermsofaliteraryhistoryoftheCape.Beyondthissuggestion,Iamgenerallyin debtformuchofmyresearchprogresstoShepherd. Shepherd mentored me in 2005 when I researched the contestations around the unearthingofhumanremainsatPrestwichStreetasagraduatestudent.Then,whileI was developing a research proposal for my PhD project, he invited me to join the Urban Heritage and Creative Practice project organized by Brown University in 2012inIstanbul.Thiswouldbeanotherkeymomentforme,asitwasinIstanbulthat IwasintroducedtoimportantCapeTown-basedpractitionersinthefieldofartistic Preface ix research,includingartistMeghnaSingh,choreographerJayPather,andarchitectIlze Wolff. Later,whenIwasagainbasedatUCT,Shepherdinvitedmetojoinhisdecolonial reading group. With his generous guidance, we read and discussed the work on decolonial thought and practice by Walter Mignolo, Madina Tlostanova, Nelson Maldonado-Torresandthelike.Healsointroducedmetoworkbycolleaguesofhis from around the world working on undisciplining archaeology, notably Cristobal Gnecco, Alejandro Haber, and Yannis Hamilakis. In general, the enthusiasm, the creativity, and the clarity of thinking that Shepherd applies to his work have been incrediblycontagiousandmotivationalforme. WhilewritingthePhDmanuscriptthatisthebasisforthisbook,theRhodesMust FallmovementsuccessfullyadvocatedfortheremovalofthestatueofCecilRhodes at UCT and later for the decolonization of the university’s curriculum. Ironically, perhaps in an attempt to pacify the prevailing rebellious mood, UCT Vice- Chancellor Max Price invited Mahmood Mamdani to UCT in 2017, to deliver the annualT.B.DavieMemorialLectureonacademicfreedom.Truetoform,Mamdani calledforAfricanuniversities“tostopimportingWesterntheoriestoimposeonlocal experiencesandinsteadtheorizeourownreality”.Thesemomentsweresourcesof inspiration when writing this book. Yet, even more than the necessary inspiration that any book requires, this book has been shaped by the enormous support I havehad. HereIwanttoexpressmygratitudetoanumberofotherpeoplewhosesupport and advice, along with Shepherd’s, have been invaluable. I would like to thank Noeleen Murray and Ciraj Rassool for their insightful comments and encourage- ments concerning my project. My sincere thanks also go to Mikela Lundahl and Cristobal Gnecco, who have been generous and supportive scholars. I want to express my appreciation to Jay Pather and Laurine Platzky for their openness and theirinterestinmyresearchproject.Inaddition,Iwouldliketothankphotographers Dirk-JanVisser,SaradeGouveia,andBarryChristiansonforworkingwithme. IamgratefultoChristophLinderforhostingmeasaguestPhDresearcheratthe Amsterdam School of Cultural Analysis of the University of Amsterdam. I would alsoliketothankIngridMartinsHolmbergandHenricBeneschforinvitingmeasa guestPhDresearchertotheConservationDepartmentoftheUniversityofGothen- burg.ItrulyenjoyedthemonthsIspentatGothenburgUniversity.Iamgratefulto JanIversenforinvitingmeasaguestPhDresearchertoAarhusUniversity.Iwould liketothankmycolleaguesattheFacultyofArtsandSocialScienceofMaastricht University, especially Vivian van Saaze, and the Department of History for their encouragement.IamalsogratefultomyPhDcolleaguesandfriendsMeghnaSingh andDuaneJethro,whosecommentsandcritiqueshavebeengreatlyappreciated. While writing my manuscript, I would often think of the typical words of encouragement dispensed by my grandmother Auke in Groningen dialect: “Kop d’rveur!”orstayfocused!Iwouldnothavebeenabletofinishthisprojectwithout thesupportandunderstandingofmyfamily,mostnotablymyparents,Adriaanand InaErnsten.ItsaddensmegreatlythatIwouldnotbeabletooffermyfatheracopy x Preface ofthisbook.IamalsothankfultomyfriendsinSouthAfrica,intheNetherlands,and elsewherewhoalwayshadmyback. Finally, I find it impossible to even imagine completing this research trajectory withoutSuzan,mylove,friend,andcompanion.Herstrength,open-mindedness,and love inourshared life—which,as of4May2015, includes Izaak andFelix—have beenaguidinginspirationovertheyears. Regarding funding, I appreciate the support of the UCT Postgraduate Funding Office and the Critical Heritage Studies initiative at Gothenburg University. I am alsothankfultothePrinceBernhardCultureFund,theVanEesteren-FluckandVan Lohuizen Foundation, and the Harry Oppenheimer Institute. In terms of technical support,IamincrediblythankfultoDanielaFrancaJoffeforhelpingwiththeediting ofthisbook. Partsofthisbookhaveappearedelsewhere,indifferentformats,asbookchapters or journal articles. Parts ofChap.2, for example, were published inArchaeologies 10(2014).AnearlierversionofChap.6appearedinArchaeologies11(2015)andis reproduced here with that journal’s permission. An earlier version of Chap. 3 was publishedintheInternationalJournalofHeritageStudies23(2017)andislikewise reproducedherewiththepermissionofthatjournal.Chapter7waspublishedinan adapted form in a collection edited by Laura McAtackney and Krysta Ryzewski: Contemporary Archaeology and the City: Creativity, Ruination, and Political Action, published by Oxford University Press in 2017. Permission by Oxford University Press to reproduce this chapter is hereby acknowledged. An earlier version of Chap. 4 was published in Urban Forum 29 (2017) and is reproduced herewiththejournal’spermission.Finally,anadaptationofChap.5waspublished in Social Dynamics 45 (2019) and permission for reproduction ishereby acknowl- edged. Maastricht,TheNetherlands ChristianErnsten 2021
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