In recent African literature and art, there has been a noticeable shift towards looking at the sea as site of colonial incursion. This oceanic turn (Hofmeyr) considers the postcolony as hydrocolonial formation and aims to surface the submerged entanglements of oceanic waters and the colonial matrix of power. My research extends this investigation to encompass all bodies of water, from oceans to rain to rivers and reservoirs, in recognition of the multifaceted precarity created by coloniality and its control over access to and meaning of wet matter within the more-than-human world. Besides, in times of climate emergency, rising sea levels, intensifying droughts, and torrential floods have become markers of our deranged relationship with the planet, calling for a rethinking of our understanding of being and being-with multi-spirited waters. This presentation discusses the intricate interconnections of (bodies of) water and colonialism, ecological (hydro)crises, and hydrocosmologies in recent literary interventions into our relationship with water.
Elisabeth Knittelfelder is a postdoctoral researcher and lecturer at the Department of African Studies at the University of Vienna, Austria. She has worked on South African theatre at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) in South Africa and at Potsdam University in Germany. Her forthcoming monograph focuses on the performance of trauma in South African testimonial and documentary theatre. Her current research explores hydrocolonialism, environmental crises, and climate justice in African literature and theatre.
Chair: Adams Bodomo
Tuesday, 14th January 2025, 5:15 pm
Department of African Studies - Seminar room 1
University Campus, court 5.1., Spitalgasse 2, 1090 Vienna
afrika@univie.ac.at, afrika.univie.ac.at
Zoom Link: https://univienna.zoom.us/j/63904002477?pwd=UVRFRnp1Y1AvQ0JIL0VBME5URnFsQT09
