KÄTE HAMBURGER LECTURES WITH MARY MBEWE
WHEN
WHERE
Innovation Center A2 1, Seminar room 0.01
Saarland University
LANGUAGE
ENGLISH
PROGRAMME
The Käte Hamburger Centre for Cultural Practices of Reparation (CURE) and the CEUS | Cluster for European Studies warmly invite you to attend the next Käte Hamburger Lecture at Saarland University. This series allows fellows from the centre to share their latest research perspectives on cultural practices of reparation. After the lectures, audience members will have the opportunity to engage with key topics in more detail during a public discussion session.
Mary Mbewe: Beyond the Return of Objects: Reparation through Knowledge, Relationships and Museum Practice
The last couple of years have seen the intensification of debates regarding the physical return of cultural objects removed from colonial contexts. While the return of physical objects is a key part of these processes, it represents only one dimension of complex and dynamic processes. In her lecture, CURE fellow Mary Mbewe argues that meaningful reparation must also encompass the restoration of knowledge, relationships, and institutional practices shaped by colonialism. Drawing on experiences from museum and heritage work in Africa, she explores how provenance research, collaborative scholarship, community participation, reciprocal knowledge exchange, and shared curatorial authority contribute to more equitable and reparative heritage futures. Instead of viewing museums simply as houses for these problematic objects, the lecture considers the potential of museums as spaces for dialogue, ethical collaboration, and the co-production of knowledge. By examining reparation as an ongoing cultural practice rather than a single act of restitution, Mary Mbewe highlights the importance of sustained partnerships and collaborations between communities, museums, and researchers. By doing so, museums become spaces for reparative futures, epistemic justice and new forms of cooperation.
The Käte Hamburger Lectures provide deeper insight into the centre’s ongoing research, convey these ideas to the wider university community, and invite the public to engage in meaningful discussions on cultural practices of reparation.
Live Lecture Broadcast
The lecture will be broadcast live via Microsoft Teams on February 17 starting at 6:00 p.m. with the lecture starting no later than 6:15 p.m. You can find the link for online participation here.