Julia Winckler on ‘James Henry Dorugu’s 19th Century Travel Account’
15 Aug 2013
Centre for Research in Memory Narratives and Histories
RESEARCH SEMINAR
WEDNESDAY 28 OCTOBER 2009
5.30 DRINKS, PAPER AT 6PM
Venue: The Board Room, Centre for Research and Development
Grand Parade
Julia Winckler
Senior Lecturer in Photography, University of Brighton
‘Regards Croisées: James Henry Dorugu’s 19th Century Travel Account’
Abstract
This seminar will focus on the little known travel account ‘The Life and Travels of Dorugu’ recorded by James Henry Dorugu in the 1850s. Dorugu was a freed slave who travelled from Africa to Europe with the German explorer Heinrich Barth in 1855. Dorugu’s story is a precious and rare eyewitness account of a 19th century African visitor to London, Hamburg and Berlin. Most 19th century travel writing was done by Western travellers who observed the cultures they visited from a eurocentric perspective. The stories told by the African guides are indispensable to our contemporary understanding of historical expeditions. Although marginalized at the fringes of official histories, Dorugu played a pivotal role as an informed mediator between European explorers, missionaries and Africans.
All welcome. For further details, please contact Dr Lucy Noakes on l.noakes@bton.ac.uk, telephone 01273 643311
Julia's seminar is part of Brighton and Hove Black History Month.
