A Training School for Elephants. Colonialism, its Enduring Legacies and what we got to do with it

Inspired by Sophy Roberts' latest book A Training School for Elephants, this public discussion examines the history of European colonialism through the lens of nineteenth-century imperial expansion and its far-reaching consequences. Asian elephants were taken to Africa in the 19th century for a supposed training school, but in reality were used for exploitation. How much were colonial projects driven by ideas of conquest, scientific curiosity, economic exploitation, and cultural domination? They certainly shaped not only the lives of colonized peoples but also the natural world. Points raised in the discussion will be how colonialism transformed societies, displaced communities, extracted resources, and influenced the collection of knowledge, animals, and cultural objects and how the ways in which these historical processes continue to resonate today in global inequalities, museum collections, environmental challenges, and ongoing debates about historical responsibility, restitution, and remembrance.

Sophy Roberts, a British award-winning author and journalist specializing in literary nonfiction, travel, history, conservation, and cultural storytelling. She is known for immersive reporting from remote and historically significant regions around the world. Sophy Roberts studied at Oxford and Columbia University in New York and has written for publications including “The Guardian”, “The Economist” and “Financial Times Weekend”. Her first book, “Sibiriens vergessene Klaviere”, was published by Zsolnay in 2020.

Moderation:
Tessa Szyszkowitz, author and journalist for the Austrian weekly Falter and others. Distinguished Fellow at Royal United Services Institute in London (RUSI)