Imperialism Above and Below the Water Line: Making Space Up (and Down) in a Colonial Port City

This essay discusses postcolonial space both above and below the water line with a focus on Durban harbour. The essay begins underwater and examines how shipping and harbour engineering created new habitats in the port. The focus then moves onto land and considers two spaces: the Custom House and th...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inInterventions (London, England) Vol. 22; no. 8; pp. 1032 - 1044
Main Author Hofmeyr, Isabel
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Routledge 16.11.2020
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Cities
Dockworkers
Durban
harbour engineering
Imperialism
oceanic humanities
port cities
Ports
Postcolonialism
submarine histories
underwater methodologies
Water
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:This essay discusses postcolonial space both above and below the water line with a focus on Durban harbour. The essay begins underwater and examines how shipping and harbour engineering created new habitats in the port. The focus then moves onto land and considers two spaces: the Custom House and the space created by the mainly Zulu-speaking dockworkers in the port. These two locations illustrate the multi-scalar and multi-temporal nature of port city space, both above and below the waterline. The essay concludes by going underwater to consider how the beliefs and practices of those in the port city spilled over into the ocean, filling it with both physical detritus and metaphysical entities.
ISSN:1369-801X
1469-929X
DOI:10.1080/1369801X.2019.1659172