Decolonising European minds through Heritage

Abstract

By analysing three museums exhibition, this article investigates how the history of European colonialism is approached in an attempt to identify potential for decolonising European minds. The case studies consist of a temporary exhibition (2016–2017) concerning German colonialism at the Deutsches Historisches Museum in Berlin; the permanent exhibition of the House of European History in Brussels and the permanent exhibition of the Sagres Promontory (Portugal), a heritage site related to the conquest of the Americas. The analysis will focus on three aspects: 1) acknowledgement of connections between colonial histories and their contemporary influences in and for Europe; 2) the role of historical consciousness when dealing with the history of colonialism and 3) re-narrations of colonial history through enabling new voices. Ultimately this approach involves ‘past presencing’, in bringing the many connections of Europe’s colonial past and postcolonial present together. It is argued, that although museums are increasingly engaging with decolonisation, there exists a need to better include decolonisation of European minds in these processes. Heritage as a future-oriented project and a tool to manage memory can be used to support historical consciousness and imagine a just future.