„Most important, such texts can create not only
knowledge but also the very reality they appear to describe.“
Edward W. Said (Orientalism, 1979, p. 94)
Hans Schomburgks oeuvre embraces as much as five decades from the Kaiserreich to the 1960s.
In the 1910s he started filming with a crankcase camera in southern and western Africa. In his preserved early films Schomburgk presents himself as “white explorer“ penetrating dangerous African jungles. Ethnological topics,“exotic“ people, wild animals, and the African space were presented to the German audience. These early real life pictures from Africa were very successful at the cinema box-office during Weimar times. Similarly his later films found an interested audience. Nowadays many of Schomburgk´s films are lost and those, which have been preserved, are not being shown anymore.
Using the art historical concept of Aby M. Warburg (1866-1929) this research study will form topic clusters to facilitate an in-depth going analysies. These clusters will illustrate the key messages of Schomburgks lifetime work. These key messages, here called “automobile Bilderfahrzeuge“ (“automobile image vehicles“), will help to create research findings in reference to our audio-visual heritage.
- Project lead: Barbara Traumann
- Contact: b.traumann(at)t-online.de
- CV: Barbara Traumann studied cultural sciences at the FernUniversität in Hagen, Germany. She was assistant at the Historical Institute Außereuropäische Geschichte/Geschichte Europas in der Welt. In connection with her work she participated in field trips to Namibia and Tanzania. Part of her work was the development and creation of study material and educational films. Her Bachelor and Master theses focused on colonialism, German migration to southern Africa, and on “Africa“ in early documentary films. Her scientific interest focuses mainly on African history.
- Scientific PhD in the discipline: Media Studies