Countermapping colonial amnesia in Parisian landscapes

Colonial amnesia is systematically embedded in Parisian landscapes, reflecting broader global patterns of selective memory. This study counters such erasure by reconstructing the city's history through its entanglements with French colonialism, particularly during the 1889 World Exposition and in the planning of Algiers and Rabat. By linking decolonial critiques—such as those of Fanon and Vergès—with analyses of war memorials, it resituates heritage sites within a transcontinental cartography. The research reveals that urban planning in Paris's banlieues serves as a monument to (post)colonial legacy, offering a critical tool for decolonial thought. This approach challenges the neutrality of national memory and exposes racial violence's exclusion from global history.

(Ed.). (2022). Countermapping colonial amnesia in Parisian landscapes. European Cities. https://doi.org/10.7765/9781526158444.00010