Violent Encounters: Rethinking War Experiences through the Prism of Gender

Drawing on his forthcoming book on the history of World War I in the former German colony of Cameroon, George Njung examines the history of war and violent conflict from a gender-specific perspective.

He demonstrates how war restructured everyday life by altering the traditional roles, vulnerabilities, and self-efficacy of men and women, as well as entire communities.

The keynote places colonized soldiers at the center of a global historical narrative that spans from the transatlantic slave trade through the world wars to the militarized labor networks of the present.

In this way, Njung challenges the blurred boundaries between military service, sacrifice, citizenship, belonging, and exploitation. This illustrates how gender reveals the hidden facets of war, such as violence beyond the battlefield, the gendered labor that sustains the empire, and the individual sacrifices of global conflicts. Understanding who—and at what cost—has fought for Europe means rethinking who belongs to Europe or who can lay claim to belonging.

• With an introduction by Qu Chang

IN ENGLISH