German Empires and Decolonial Fantasies, 1492–1942

Simpson’s (German, Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln; Screening Solidarity: Neoliberalism and Transnational Cinemas) brilliant literary prose and thorough analysis of German colonial history on the African continent and in the Americas make for impressive scholarship. She takes an interdisciplinary approach—history, political science, philosophy, anthropology, literary criticism—to examine intersections of race, gender, ethnicity, and religion in the German empire. The book draws from an impressive range of sources, from the records of a 17th-century Brandenburg fort in Ghana to literary narratives of the colonial experience. The content spans from early modernity to post–World War I, and each chapter meticulously explores different facets of colonialism. Throughout, Simpson makes complex ideas accessible without sacrificing scholarly precision.