Lhoussain Simour: Archives Through a Decolonial Lens

Lhoussain Simour
Archives Through a Decolonial Lens. Moroccan Performers and Cultural Encounters in European Circuses (1820–1950)

This lecture presents a project exploring archival material through the lens of postcolonial and decolonial perspectives, focusing on Moroccan traveling troupes of performers in Europe from the nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. It seeks to recover little-known narratives of Moroccan performers in European archives and shed light on their often silenced journeys across key historical moments. Drawing on sources such as newspapers, entertainment magazines, census and naturalization records, passenger lists, professional and apprenticeship documents, court records, passports, circus and fair programs, photographs, and scrapbooks, the project uncovers untold stories of cultural encounters between Morocco and Europe. These materials open exciting possibilities for examining complex discourses in revisionist historiography, offering new insights into Moroccan performers’ cultural interactions and marginalized histories, while enriching the broader field of postcolonial studies.

THE LECTURE WILL BE HYBRID.

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