The seminar focused on colonial records of migrant labour. It aimed to critically analyse these records and explore how they can inform contemporary scholarship. It also examined their creators, their motivations and the influence of contemporary social and intellectual movements such as decolonisation of the university and critical race theory.
The seminar was inspired by the work of Dr Ellen Ndeshi Namhila of the University of Namibia, in particular her book Little Research Value: African Estate Records and Colonial Gaps in a Post-Colonial National Archive. Namhila’s research focused on African estate records rediscovered at the National Archives of Namibia in the 2010s. I transcribed some of these files into a database known as the WBL Namibian Worker Database, which played a crucial role in my dissertation.
The course explored challenging questions about the use of such files, the biases of their creators, and the best methods of interpretation. Our findings had the potential to improve academic methods of analysing colonial records beyond the field of history.
In addition, the project aimed to address criticisms of cliometrics, a methodology that applies complex analytical techniques to large historical datasets, by encouraging deeper critical analysis and offering insights that are applicable not only to history, but also to cliometrics, political science, economics, and other fields. In doing so, I emphasized the need for my students to interact with both scholars and the civil population of southern Africa.
The course was characterised by the fact that I gave the students a lot of freedom and participation, we discussed together in which direction our research project should develop and the students brought in their different ideas. Despite this participation and openness of the course, guidance from me was important to avoid confusion in the research. The different phases of the research were therefore structured by me and can be divided into seven different aspects: Introduction: I started with a general overview of research-based learning and the theme of the course, followed by an introduction of the participants. I also introduced the basic work plan and timetable, emphasising its adaptability based on participants’ progress. The session encouraged participants to ask questions, which were answered to the best of my ability.
Identify possible research questions: In this context, I introduce the main overarching questions related to the general topic. As a group, we consider whether we should address these questions directly or whether participants would prefer to develop their own questions within the given thematic framework. For example, the following research questions were formulated: How can new methods of research, especially in relation to oral history which are being practised in Southern Africa, including Namibia, improve and further global academic best practices? How can we build and maintain more equal lines of communication and knowledge exchange between students and scholars in Europe and Southern Africa?
Thematic, theoretical and methodological introduction: Throughout the course we explored the theme of colonial migrant labour, particularly in southern Africa. We read relevant articles and examined sections of Namhila’s book about estate files in Namibia and their links to colonial labour. Armed with this knowledge, we looked at theories such as the decolonisation of archives and education. We discussed methodological frameworks in small groups and considered their suitability. We evaluated the digitised original WBL Namibian Worker Database sources and database and assessed their usefulness for our project. We then finalised our methodological framework, discussed potential applications and brainstormed research topics and questions. The groups presented their findings for further discussion.
Planning and clarification of the research project: In this phase we reviewed our progress and results, discussed the practical applications of our methods, improved the precision of our research project, formed smaller research groups and set specific milestones for our website project. In this phase we also organized guest lectures or interviews with different actors from African countries, e.g. Zimbabwe or Namibia.
Completion of small research projects: We held discussions with individuals, groups or the whole Q-team as required, addressing their progress, challenges and questions. Additional materials were provided as needed for further project development. This phase also served as a platform for informal discussions and presentations of milestone results.
Presentation of results, creation of website: The next step was the discussion of our findings in group presentations. We focused on how to effectively integrate these findings into our website page, ensuring coherence and a logical flow of information. Finally, we worked on assembling the finished website and explored the possibility of presenting the website.
Reflection: At the end of the seminar we conducted a reflection process and gathered feedback from the participants. We carefully reviewed our website and put the finishing touches to it. We then shared the final product with colleagues and friends. Importantly we were also able to present the project at Namibian Research Day in Basel and later a the Africa History Colloquium at the University of Leipzig.