Jun 18, 2021
The German Association for American Studies (DGfA) and Fulbright Germany are pleased to announce that Dr. Jonas Anderson, assistant professor of Modern History at the Universität der Bundeswehr München, was awarded the 2021 American Studies Award at the DGfA Annual Meeting on June 17, 2021. Congratulations, Dr. Anderson!
The prize carries with it a cash award of Euro 10,000 Euro, co-financed by Fulbright Germany and the DGfA. It recognizes Dr. Anderson´s innovative second book project titled: “Imperial Partners: Americans and the European Colonization of Africa from 1865 to 1936”
When looking at the maps of Africa in the late 19th century, Dr. Anderson claims, nothing suggests that besides the European colonial powers, whose territories are clearly marked in different colors, the United States also pursued active interests in Sub-Saharan Africa, through U.S. experts, military personnel, engineers and administrative staff who travelled to the European colonies building trading networks and promoting U.S. culture.
Nor would anyone think of the introduction of the “black vote” in the U.S. that made white supremacists think of removing African-Americans from a society conceived as “white” and have them relocated instead to the European colonies in Africa where they were to promote the U.S. strategic interests.
It is through the lenses of these different actors that Dr. Anderson wants to explore the history of the relationship between American and European perceptions of colonialism.
He argues that the rise of the United States to global power in the decades after the Civil War must also be seen in the context of the new world structure created by European colonization and imperial exploitation.
The prize money will help finance his research in archives and libraries in the U.S. For this, he is planning a 4-month trip beginning in September 2021. Safe travels, Dr. Anderson!
