1. Windhoek 'apollinea' e 'dionisiaca'. Stato e coloni nell’Africa Tedesca del Sud-Ovest
- Author
-
Matthias Häussler
- Subjects
colonial state ,colonial war ,genocide ,German South-West Africa ,settler colonialism ,Africa sud-occidentale tedesca ,colonialismo d’insediamento ,genocidio ,guerra coloniale ,stato coloniale ,History (General) ,D1-2009 ,Modern history, 1453- ,D204-475 - Abstract
The distinction between the “Apollonian” and the “Dionysian” came back into fashion through Friedrich Nietzsche’s use in his famous work The Birth of the Tragedy from the Spirit of Music. This paper, however, does not aspire to make any contribution to the understanding of these concepts, but uses this distinction to clarify two aspects of state-centered settler colonialism by focusing on the example of “German South-West Africa” (GSWA) and her capital, Windhoek. As is generally known, Apollo was believed to be the god of the sun and reason, while Dionysus was believed to be the god of intoxication and ecstasy. In the present context, the “Apollonian” stands for the utopian dream of colonial state power entailing the claims to the monopoly of use of force, to justice, to protection, and to a cautiously planned und implemented policy, whereas the “Dionysian” stands, roughly speaking, for the frontier-mentality of settlers and their anomic tendencies ultimately stemming from the undisputed unlawfulness of the whole colonial venture. Concomitantly, this paper draws on another opposition: day and night. These antonyms are used in a metaphorical sense – but not exclusively. While the former stands for “the reign of light” relying on state power and a public life displaying features of civil society, the latter stands for the phase of the day when night fell, state control decreased to a bare minimum and the colonial “underlife” blossomed.
- Published
- 2015