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:

  • New article out in German History

    In this article, Nina Kleinöder (University of Bamberg) and I propose approaching colonial railways in the German Empire through the lens of everyday history. Building on Florence Bernault’s concept of “colonial transactions,” we examine how this approach might reshape the way we understand imperial infrastructures. The article is part of a special issue and now online in First View with German History. It is available here: “Colonial Transactions in the German Empire: Infrastructures and the Colonial Everyday”.

  • Review of Florence Bernault’s “Colonial Transactions”

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

    “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/