Prof. Dr. Sophia Labadi

The contestations of colonial statues have been widely covered in academic literature. However, there is a notable research gap regarding the intertwining biographies of major 19th-century colonialists, the symbolism of their statues from that period, and how these monuments and men contributed to colonialism as asymmetrical dependencies in France and its colonies. This research proposes to fill this gap.

Through interdisciplinary investigation of the history of colonial statues, the project will deconstruct hegemonic heritage discourses, and reveal their political, nationalist, and economic uses. In doing so, it will transform the ways in which colonial figures have been considered, challenging their status as ‘benevolent’. In addition, the proposed project will develop new, pluriversal understandings of heritage by considering resistance to hegemonic heritage discourses embodied in statues. Thus, the project will highlight the fluid, changing and contested nature of heritage and its contemporary impacts.

since 2019
Professor of Heritage Studies, University of Kent

2012–2019
Senior Lecturer and Lecturer in Heritage Studies, University of Kent

2000–2006
PhD in Heritage Studies, University College London, UK

1998–1999
MA in Cultural Heritage Studies, University College London, UK

1994–1998
BA in Political and Social Sciences, Institut d’Etudes Politiques, Grenoble, France