Stuck in the Colonial Past
Perpetuating Racist, Environmental Myths of Kenya in a Swiss Zoo
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 18953341 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Samantha S Sithole (0000-0003-1202-6219, Sustainability Institute), Marianna Fernandes (Sustainability Institute), Olivier Hymas (Sustainability Institute), K C Sharma (0000-0003-0131-5138, ETH Zurich), Kavita Sharma (0000-0001-7549-3901, ETH Zürich, Inst. of Terrestrial Ecosystems, Switzerland [email protected]), Gretchen Walters (0000-0002-0244-4858, Sustainability Institute) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 95-111 |
| Publication date | 2021-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Anthropological Journal of European Cultures (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1755-2923 • E-ISSN: 1755-2931 |
| Publisher | Berghahn Books (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.3167/ajec.2021.300207 |
| OpenAlex | W3217397691 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 23 |
This contribution challenges representations of landscapes and communities within zoos in Europe that may amplify colonial narratives of local people through a racialised and often static lens. Instead of a holistic portrayal of the relationship between humans and nature that the EAZA (European Association of Zoos and Aquaria) stipulates within its guidelines, some European zoos continue to perpetuate a narrow view of foreign landscapes within their exhibits. Utilising the concept of representation, this short article argues that Zoo Zürich reinforces colonial narratives through its new Lewa exhibit, an exhibit based on a Kenyan conservancy. This piece is based on an improvised visit to the zoo to see the new African exhibit. It highlights discrepancies between the Lewa exhibit, guidelines of the EAZA and the Lewa Conservancy in Kenya. In this light, we propose recommendations for European zoos to decolonise their institutions and exhibits based on an understanding that is not only scientific, but also historical, critically reflective, and inclusive of non-Western perspectives
Archaeology · Art · Colonialism · Ethnology · Geography · Kenya · Literature · Narrative · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Geographies of human-animal interactions · History · Law · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
Colonial Switzerland
People have shaped most of terrestrial nature for at least 12,000 years
Mainstreaming the social sciences in conservation
Conservation and the Social Sciences
Culture and Resistance
The Ethics of Captivity
Selected Subaltern studies
There’s nothing new under the sun – lessons conservationists could learn from previous pandemics
Power and identity
Human Zoos or Ethnic Shows? Essence and contingency in Living Ethnological Exhibitons
Decolonising development studies
Belonging at the zoo
Hyper‐self‐reflexive development? Spivak on representing the Third World ‘Other’
The “migrant crisis” as racial crisis
Why social scientists should engage with natural scientists
The Lie of the Land
All the World is Staged
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,33 |
| Citation span | 2023 - 2023 (1) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |