Od "šelem v podobě lidské" k "věrným psům". Animalita a rasa v české cestopisné literatuře o Africe v období vrcholného kolonialismu

• Authors: Josef Řičář

Title variants

EN

From “beasts in human form” to “faithful dogs”. Animality and race in Czech travel literature about Africa in the period of high colonialism

• Languages of publication: CS

Abstracts

EN

In contemporary academic debates, the old thesis of the non-participation of Central European states in global colonialism is being reassessed. This is also the direction this study takes, addressing the issue of representations of indigenous otherness in the travelogues of Czech travellers to different regions of Africa. Using innovative concepts of interdisciplinary human-animal studies, the text interprets comparisons of indigenous peoples to nonhuman animals in the context of hegemonic discourses, especially the racial and the civilizational/colonial. In the context of intensive colonial conquest and subsequent formal administration, the ongoing integration of non-European territories into capitalist structures, and the specific position of Central European actors in these processes, the form and meaning of animalizing comparisons also changed.

Keywords

EN

human-animal studies; colonialism without colonies; race; Czech travel writing; interwar period; scramble for Africa

Discipline

• HISTORY: HISTORY

• Publisher: Institute of History, Czech Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Český časopis historický (The Czech Historical Review)
• Year: 2024
• Volume: 122
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 759-790
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

Josef Řičář

• Historický ústav AV ČR, v. v. i., Prosecká 809/76, 190 00 Praha 9, Czech Republic