From Slavery to Race: Landscape and Social Relations of Production in La Réunion (1663-1863)

From Slavery to Race: Landscape and Social Relations of Production in La Réunion (1663-1863)

Speaker: Kirti Durelle
Supervisors:  Dr Tania Sengupta and Tim Waterman
Guest panellist: Edward Denison from The Bartlett School of Architecture and Dr Jagjeet Lally from UCL History

Abstract

This thesis investigates the historical formation of landscapes and subjectivities on the Indian Ocean Island of La Réunion, from the inception of its slave society until the transition to free labour regimes. During this period, the population of this hitherto uninhabited island comprised forced and voluntary migrants, categorised according to emerging identity definitions that combined status, class, colour, ethnicity and eventually ‘race’. Although the island landscapes adhered to the requirements of crop production and the management of slave labour, they were also determined by the geomorphological attributes of its terrains. These previously unencountered topographies supported specific modes of occupation, mobilities, and infrastructural interventions, which themselves influenced the organisation of production and social relations. 

Following a historical materialist approach, this research seeks to understand the influence of island terrains on spatial and social formations, and the relationship of these historical conditions to the emergence of racial epistemologies.

About The Bartlett Research Conversations

The Bartlett School of Architecture’s Research Conversations seminars comprise work-in-progress and upgrade presentations by students undertaking the Architectural Design MPhil/PhD and Architectural and Urban History and Theory MPhil/PhD. All current UCL staff and students are welcome to attend.

Held regularly throughout the academic year, the seminars are attended by the Programme Directors, Professor Sophia Psarra, Dr Nina Vollenbröker and Professor Nat Chard; PhD Coordinators, Dr Stamatis Zografos and Dr Stelios Giamarelos; and other PhD supervisors.

Image: Geomorphology of La Réunion by Kirti Durelle