Provincializing coloniality: A global history of 20th century Tyrol
Research Project | Duration: June 2026–May 2031
Based on archival research and interviews, the project "Provincializing Coloniality" sheds light on Tyrol's transregional dimensions and thus opens up new perspectives for a productive interweaving of regional and global history. In the project, Tyrol's history in the 20th century is reread through an intertwined perspective in order to find out how even regions that had no colonies themselves and were far away from capitals were involved in imperialist constellations as well as decolonization processes.
A first focus concerns institutions that had the aim of intervening in other regions of the world in contexts of mission, colonization or development. Such institutions emerged in different periods from the First Republic to Austrofascism to the post-war period. One example is the African Institute in Innsbruck, which was founded in 1924 by Albert Drexel and dealt with the study of cultures and languages in Africa and was converted into a mission college in 1928 to prepare missionaries for practical use. Another case study deals with the settlement Dreizehnlinden/Treze Tílias (Brazil), founded in 1933 by Austrian emigrants, and the ongoing intensive relations with Tyrol, not least in the context of development aid from the 1960s onwards.
The second focus of the project is on colonial entanglements in popular culture and consumption in the first half of the 20th century. It examines how colonial ideas and narratives have been anchored (but perhaps also challenged) in advertising, consumer goods, and cultural practices – both in cities and in rural areas. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, for example, the carnival tradition in Telfs, the Telfer Schleicherlaufen, referred to geographically distant events such as the Boer War in South Africa (1899-1902). As an example of economic interdependencies, the project examines colonial goods stores (Kolonialwarenläden) that offered products such as coffee, tea and tobacco from overseas (not necessarily from colonies) and relied on exoticizing strategies for advertising.
The third focus of the project is on initiatives against colonialism and racism as well as references to the global process of decolonization more generally. The focus here is on the 1950s to 1980s, when the independence of countries in Africa and the fight against apartheid in South Africa were also discussed in Tyrol and South Tyrol. One case study concerns the activities of the anti-apartheid movement in Tyrol, which not only drew attention to human rights violations in South Africa, but also pointed out the involvement of Tyrol’s political and economic elites.
In sum, the project takes a new look at regional history with a view to global interdependencies as well as colonial and anti-colonial aspects.
Contact:
assoz.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Eric Burton
Department of Contemporary History
University of Innsbruck
Innrain 52d, 6020 Innsbruck
