Capturing Nafusa: Postcards & Photographs of and in Jebel Nafusa (Libya) in the Early 20th Century
Contenu
- Titre
- Capturing Nafusa: Postcards & Photographs of and in Jebel Nafusa (Libya) in the Early 20th Century
- Créateur
- Love, Jr, Paul M.
- Résumé
- This article examines photographs and postcards of the Jebel Nafusa region (in present-day northwestern Libya) from the 1910s to the 1930s to trace the transformation of this remote area from an Ottoman administrative frontier into a regional center for Italian colonial-era tourism. It argues that each phase in the history of photography and postcards of the Jebel Nafusa corresponds to a step in this transition, enabling us to explore local history through visual representations. This transformation is evident materially, both in the format and composition of the photographs and postcards and in the changes to the landscapes depicted. Moreover, the article demonstrates that these images signify a shift in representation. As in other colonial contexts, these photographs and postcards are not mere snapshots of reality; rather, they actively contributed to the construction of a new colonial reality by erasing aspects of the region’s Ottoman past, appropriating or historicizing local architecture and customs, anonymizing the local populations, and, above all, normalizing the Italian occupation through images of the new rulers and their built environment. Methodologically, the article highlights the potential of photographs and postcards to illuminate local histories of colonialism.
- Est une partie de
- Hespéris-Tamuda
- Editeur
- Université Mohamed V
- Couverture spatiale
- Rabat
- Date
- 2026
- volume
- 61
- numéro
- 1
- pages
- 213-261
- Langue
- eng
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