070266 SE Seminar (PM4) (2016S)

It will be the principal task of the course to elucidate the political dimension as well as the success and deficit of Austrian Africa-Policy during the era of Kreisky. In addition, students of history, cultural studies and also human and social science shall have the opportunity to deal with this highly sensitive and conflictual topic. This is more important if we consider the international situation today or even the power-political structures of globalization [particularly the timeliness and significance of the alien problem in the Austrian domestic policy]. In fact, the presence of Africans in Austria has a relatively long history. According to Walter Sauer [Historian], a certain African was baptized in the Stephansdom [St. Stephen’s Cathedral] already in 1629 with the name Balthasar. He was with great probability a slave of the Ottoman Empire. We have also the history of Jacob Bock who, in contrast to Balthasar, was baptized on the day of his execution [in 1704 on the Hoher Markt in Vienna’s city center]. Angelo Soliman was another African who has become famous, because his body has been stuffed after his death in 1796 in Vienna.
It is recognized that Austria has never been a colonizing power in Africa and was not able [like France, Portugal or Great Britain] to maintain colonial relations with African countries. Most Africans in Vienna at that time were generally slaves or “exotic” servants. A real approach to the continent can be traced back to beginning of the 1960s. The first foreign-policy concept towards Africa was started in 1962 under Bruno Kreisky [foreign secretary between 1959 and 1966]. Consequently, the Government was quite anxious to open embassies in order to consolidate the Austrian presence in Africa. For some politicians it is still important to emphasize that Austria has an unencumbered approach to the African continent. For this reason Kreisky says:
"Es ist selbstverständlich, daß Österreich, ein Land, das niemals Kolonien besaß, das Recht jeder Nation auf Selbstbestimmung, Freiheit und Unabhängigkeit wärmstens unterstützt [...]. Es müssen alle Anstrengungen unternommen werden, um diesen Völkern die Gelegenheit zu geben, über ihre eigene Zukunft zu entscheiden".
Assumptions for a positive closure: regular and active participation; holding of a presentation, writing of a final paper.