Norman Aselmeyer

Historian • University of Oxford

I’m a historian of European colonialism and modern Africa.

My research centres on urban and social history, with a focus on the history of infrastructure and popular unrest. A recurring theme in my work is how colonial societies functioned, especially how ordinary people experienced colonialism and how they navigated, shaped, evaded and contested colonial rule in everyday life. I also explore the politics of memory, examining how the colonial past is remembered in both Africa and Europe. More recently, my interests have expanded to include the lives and experiences of Black people in Germany, particularly those who migrated from the (former) colonies. My primary regional focus is East Africa, especially Kenya, though my work spans the broader histories of both the German and British Empires. » more

New:

  • Review of Florence Bernault’s “Colonial Transactions”

    The German Historische Zeitschrift recently published my review of Florence Bernault’s 2019 book “Colonial Transaction”.

    “In den vergangenen Jahren sind die Dichotomien in der Kolonialgeschichtsschreibung – etwa „colonizers“ vs. „colonized“, „segregation“ vs. „encounter“, „agency“ vs. „coercion“ –, allesamt ein Produkt des kolonialen Archivs, erheblich unter die Räder gekommen. Zwar bemühten sich Menschen in kolonialen Kontexten beständig um eine „Grammatik der Differenz“, wie Ann Laura Stoler und Frederick Cooper es formulierten, doch bestimmten solche Differenzkategorien den Alltag nur bedingt. …”

    Read the full review open access on the journal’s website

  • Ever heard of Taveta?

    I’ve just published a new encyclopedia entry on the occupation of Taveta (Kenya) during the First World War, the only territory of the British Empire that fell under German occupation in the war. Read more here: https://encyclopedia.1914-1918-online.net/article/taveta-occupation-of/

  • Special Issue on Colonial Cities published

    In this special issue, Avner Ofrath (FU Berlin) and I argue that studying neighborhoods offers valuable insights into the lived realities of colonial cities. The articles have recently been published online as “First View” with Urban History. The introduction is available open access here: “Uneasy Neighbours: Proximity, Sociability and Difference in the Colonial City, c. 1870–1940″.