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Press Release

Press Release

Doctoral thesis on Eurafrican Spaces on the British Gold Coast

Patrik Hettula

M.Sc. Patrik Hettula’s doctoral thesis in General History will be put forth for public defence at the Faculty of Arts, Psychology and Theology at Åbo Akademi University.

The thesis is entitled Contesting the Empire – Fighting the Inevitable: Eurafrican Spaces on the British Gold Coast.

The public defence of the doctoral thesis takes place on 8 November 2024 at 1PM in auditorium Argentum, Aurum, Henrikinkatu 2, Turku. You can also follow the defence online. Associate Professor Jon Olav Hove, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Norway, will serve as opponent and Professor Holger Weiss, Åbo Akademi University, as custos.

Summary

This thesis examines the role of Eurafricans on the British Gold Coast from approximately 1874 to 1925. The Eurafricans, who were descendants of both European and African ancestors, can be seen as a relatively wealthy minority group that occupied a unique position between two worlds. The thesis focuses on how the Eurafricans shaped their own identities and spatial positions, while also challenging the predominantly white colonial order and power structure. Through an analysis of newspaper material from, among others, The Gold Coast Leader and The Gold Coast Times, the thesis shows how the Eurafricans participated in public debates and used the press to formulate strategies and strengthen their community.

Theories by Henri Lefebvre, Edward Soja, and Homi K. Bhabha have been used to understand how the Eurafricans created social spaces and hybridised identities. Lefebvre’s idea of social spaces highlights how the Eurafricans navigated and reshaped colonial environments. Soja’s concept of Thirdspace emphasises the creation of new, hybridised spaces, while Bhabha’s theories on hybridity and cultural identity explain how the Eurafricans challenged and leveraged both European and African norms.

The thesis’ five empirical chapters follow a spatial structure, from an individual to a transcontinental scale, and analyses how Eurafricans, such as Kobina Sekyi, navigated between these. The thesis demonstrates that the Eurafricans were not passive recipients of colonial oppression, but active agents who shaped their own identities and spaces. The thesis contributes to rethinking traditional views on colonial power relations by focusing on spatiality and identity as tools for resistance for a colonised minority.

Patrik Hettula can be reached by email phettula@abo.fi.

The doctoral thesis can be read online through the Doria publication archive.

Click here for a press photo of the doctoral student.

 

Instructions for following the doctoral defence remotely:

To follow the defence, you need the Zoom software or the Google Chrome browser. You do not need to create a Zoom account to follow the defence. If you install the application, you participate by clicking on the meeting link, after which you should allow the link to open in the Zoom app.