I am a doctoral researcher in historical sociology in the Department for Economic and Social Sciences at the University of Hamburg, working on a research grant awarded by the German National Academic Foundation. A graduate from the Universities of Essex and Hamburg, holding master's and bachelor's degrees in history and sociology, my scholarship focuses on manifestations of racism in different historical contexts. While my PhD thesis deals with the racisms in Thomas Jefferson's political and scientific thought, my earlier work examined the persistence of traditional racist stereotypes in present-day advertising and scrutinized the racialized histories of commodity culture in Europe and the US.
http://www.wiso.uni-hamburg.de/fachbereiche/sozialoekonomie/personal/soziologie/prof-dr-wulf-d-hund/promovierende/ Supervisors: Wulf D. Hund
Since the beginning of commodity culture, products have been marketed with images reflecting raci... more Since the beginning of commodity culture, products have been marketed with images reflecting racist concepts of otherness. Using the prominent examples of three companies – Uncle Ben’s, Sarotti and Banania – Malte Hinrichsen examines how racist trademark figures were established in the U.S., Germany and France and built on nation-specific processes of racial stereotyping. While Hinrichsen finds that the three figures mirror their national histories of slavery, Orientalism and colonialism, he reveals that their paths through popular culture also followed strikingly similar patterns. Conceived in an era of overt racism, each symbol was challenged by social movements over the course of the 20th century and became increasingly marginalised in promotional activities. In the early 2000s, however, all three figures were relaunched with supposedly new makeovers, hitting once again at the heart of commodity culture and illustrating the subtle prevalence of racist stereotypes.
Starting with the emergence of the advertising industry, everyday objects and products have been ... more Starting with the emergence of the advertising industry, everyday objects and products have been frequently marketed with racialized imagery. Accordingly, businesses turned to trademark laws to protect these images, which were not merely distinctive of the products that they accompanied, but also derogatory depictions of people of color. Within this framework, the present chapter recounts the racist origins and the contemporary histories of racist trademarks in Europe and the United States and reveals the implicit messages of white supremacy, which trademarks like Banania, Sarotti, Aunt Jemima, and Uncle Ben’s still purport in present-day marketing. This chapter acknowledges that, after being increasingly contested in the second half of the twentieth century, some of these trademarks were modified. Yet, they were not altogether abandoned. On the contrary, this chapter argues that racialized advertising seems to be gaining weight concomitant to increasing opposition to multiculturalism and political correctness. In particular, this chapter highlights that the current level of social activism against visual stereotypes in commodity culture seems insufficient, and is insufficiently backed by political and legislative efforts, in order to effectively restrict the use of trademarks conveying more or less overt racist messages.
Wir beleuchten im Folgenden die Entwicklung von rassistischen Worten und Bildern im Rahmen unters... more Wir beleuchten im Folgenden die Entwicklung von rassistischen Worten und Bildern im Rahmen unterschiedlicher Machtverhältnisse. Zunächst beschäftigen wir uns mit aktuellen Diskursen, in denen Marktmacht und Medienmacht zur Verteidigung und Fortschreibung eines rassistisch geprägten Mohrenstereotyps benutzt werden. Dazu gehört nicht zuletzt der als vermeintliches Entlastungsargument vorgetragene Hinweis, die benutzten Symbole würden zu Unrecht beanstandet und hätten eine unverdächtige Geschichte. Deswegen wenden wir uns anschließend den historischen Hintergründen zu, die deutlich machen, dass das Wort Mohr sich zunächst aus einer Herkunftsbezeichnung zu einem umkämpften Begriff entwickelt hat, bei dem aus unterschiedlichen Perspektiven negative und positive Konnotationen betont wurden. Seine anschließende Entwicklung zu einer Rassenkategorie erfolgte in einem mehrhundertjährigen Prozess, in dem der mit dem europäischen Kolonialismus verbundene Sklavenhandel und die Systematisierung des Rassenbegriffs durch die Aufklärung bedeutsame Rollen spielten. Mit den Auswirkungen des Rassedenkens auf die Bezeichnung Mohr und deren endgültige Umwandlung in eine rassistische Kategorie beschäftigen wir uns abschließend. Dabei kommen wir zu dem Schluss, dass sich die eingangs behandelten Verteidiger unterschiedlicher Mohrenfiguren zu Unrecht auf eine angeblich nicht rassistisch geprägte Tradition berufen.
Against some recent publications, this chapter portrays the occidental image of the ›moor‹ as und... more Against some recent publications, this chapter portrays the occidental image of the ›moor‹ as undergoing a chequered history of representations. Emerging as a sanctified knight in late medieval iconography and visually included in a Christian realm opposing Muslim enemies, the ›moor‹ of the Middle Ages was all but a racist stereotype. Noble families like the Tuchers of Nuremberg incorporated portrayals of a dark-skinned saint in their coat of arms, while art and literature allowed for black characters to be chivalrous and gallant. With the establishment of transatlantic slavery, the ›moor’s‹ noblesse was reduced to his extravagant oriental appearance, while he was attributed the social role of a servant in equivalence to the African slave in the colonies. Eventually, when Enlightenment thought fostered scientific justifications for plantation slavery, the ›moor‹ like the ›negro slave‹ was classified as racially inferior. Thus, in 1855, as the Tucher family started to promote beer with the ›moor’s head‹, this heraldic figure was long emptied of its initial positive attributions. Amidst other advertising ›moors‹ of the 19th century, it both benefitted from and contributed to the popularisation of racism. The preservation of the trademark symbol during the Nazi era, when other traditional representations of ›moors‹ were abandoned, further illustrates that a commodified and racialised image of the black had overwritten an icon of intercontinental œcumene.
Commercial advertising and commodity culture have been major influences of western societies sinc... more Commercial advertising and commodity culture have been major influences of western societies since the late nineteenth century, creating both images of identity and of otherness. Emerging in post-abolition America and colonialist Europe, early marketing campaigns presented a range of racial stereotypes and set the base for racialized trademarks and for widespread usage of racially charged visual language in promotional activities during the following century. Facing critique and opposition from social movements, racist advertising changed, but did not disappear. Following critical approaches to the analysis of commercial imagery and covering a range from early stereotyping to contemporary multiculturalism, this chapter reveals the perpetual promotion of whiteness through continuing pictorial exclusion and observes techniques of visual subordination as well as their historical transformation.
Narratives about Thomas Jefferson's relationship with his slave Sally Hemings have been inflaming... more Narratives about Thomas Jefferson's relationship with his slave Sally Hemings have been inflaming public debates in the United States for well over two hundred years, and in doing so constantly revealed present conditions of American racism. Emerging as an overtly racist campaign operating with violent language, the story was soon integrated in controversies about slavery and early biographers refused the accusations that Jefferson was »converting his house into an African brothel«. With further reception peaks in context of the Civil Rights Movement and on the eve of the ›post-racial‹ era, the affair was revisited in different stages of race relations, always being reformulated for the given situation. The present paper will illustrate how the controversy's adoption was shaped by these phases and, conversely, can be used to visualize the shifts in American racism.
Jefferson's concept of an »Empire of Liberty« has long been recognized as the blueprint of Americ... more Jefferson's concept of an »Empire of Liberty« has long been recognized as the blueprint of American exceptionalism and the Virginian himself as the most eminent »weaver of the national tale«. At the same time, Jefferson has been accused of being the »foremost racist of his era in America«, with his notorious comments on African Americans' natural inferiority representing his lapse into the scientific transgressions of his time. However, the racism of Thomas Jefferson was neither limited to his biologistic speculations about blacks nor to his involvement with plantation slavery and miscegenation, but rather represented an integral component of his imperial vision and encompassed a genuine American version of racial classification.
Francisco Bethencourt, Racisms. From the Crusades to the Twentieth Century, Princeton University ... more Francisco Bethencourt, Racisms. From the Crusades to the Twentieth Century, Princeton University Press, Princeton/Oxford 2013, 444 S., geb., 39,50 $.
Since the beginning of commodity culture, products have been marketed with images reflecting raci... more Since the beginning of commodity culture, products have been marketed with images reflecting racist concepts of otherness. Using the prominent examples of three companies – Uncle Ben’s, Sarotti and Banania – Malte Hinrichsen examines how racist trademark figures were established in the U.S., Germany and France and built on nation-specific processes of racial stereotyping. While Hinrichsen finds that the three figures mirror their national histories of slavery, Orientalism and colonialism, he reveals that their paths through popular culture also followed strikingly similar patterns. Conceived in an era of overt racism, each symbol was challenged by social movements over the course of the 20th century and became increasingly marginalised in promotional activities. In the early 2000s, however, all three figures were relaunched with supposedly new makeovers, hitting once again at the heart of commodity culture and illustrating the subtle prevalence of racist stereotypes.
Starting with the emergence of the advertising industry, everyday objects and products have been ... more Starting with the emergence of the advertising industry, everyday objects and products have been frequently marketed with racialized imagery. Accordingly, businesses turned to trademark laws to protect these images, which were not merely distinctive of the products that they accompanied, but also derogatory depictions of people of color. Within this framework, the present chapter recounts the racist origins and the contemporary histories of racist trademarks in Europe and the United States and reveals the implicit messages of white supremacy, which trademarks like Banania, Sarotti, Aunt Jemima, and Uncle Ben’s still purport in present-day marketing. This chapter acknowledges that, after being increasingly contested in the second half of the twentieth century, some of these trademarks were modified. Yet, they were not altogether abandoned. On the contrary, this chapter argues that racialized advertising seems to be gaining weight concomitant to increasing opposition to multiculturalism and political correctness. In particular, this chapter highlights that the current level of social activism against visual stereotypes in commodity culture seems insufficient, and is insufficiently backed by political and legislative efforts, in order to effectively restrict the use of trademarks conveying more or less overt racist messages.
Wir beleuchten im Folgenden die Entwicklung von rassistischen Worten und Bildern im Rahmen unters... more Wir beleuchten im Folgenden die Entwicklung von rassistischen Worten und Bildern im Rahmen unterschiedlicher Machtverhältnisse. Zunächst beschäftigen wir uns mit aktuellen Diskursen, in denen Marktmacht und Medienmacht zur Verteidigung und Fortschreibung eines rassistisch geprägten Mohrenstereotyps benutzt werden. Dazu gehört nicht zuletzt der als vermeintliches Entlastungsargument vorgetragene Hinweis, die benutzten Symbole würden zu Unrecht beanstandet und hätten eine unverdächtige Geschichte. Deswegen wenden wir uns anschließend den historischen Hintergründen zu, die deutlich machen, dass das Wort Mohr sich zunächst aus einer Herkunftsbezeichnung zu einem umkämpften Begriff entwickelt hat, bei dem aus unterschiedlichen Perspektiven negative und positive Konnotationen betont wurden. Seine anschließende Entwicklung zu einer Rassenkategorie erfolgte in einem mehrhundertjährigen Prozess, in dem der mit dem europäischen Kolonialismus verbundene Sklavenhandel und die Systematisierung des Rassenbegriffs durch die Aufklärung bedeutsame Rollen spielten. Mit den Auswirkungen des Rassedenkens auf die Bezeichnung Mohr und deren endgültige Umwandlung in eine rassistische Kategorie beschäftigen wir uns abschließend. Dabei kommen wir zu dem Schluss, dass sich die eingangs behandelten Verteidiger unterschiedlicher Mohrenfiguren zu Unrecht auf eine angeblich nicht rassistisch geprägte Tradition berufen.
Against some recent publications, this chapter portrays the occidental image of the ›moor‹ as und... more Against some recent publications, this chapter portrays the occidental image of the ›moor‹ as undergoing a chequered history of representations. Emerging as a sanctified knight in late medieval iconography and visually included in a Christian realm opposing Muslim enemies, the ›moor‹ of the Middle Ages was all but a racist stereotype. Noble families like the Tuchers of Nuremberg incorporated portrayals of a dark-skinned saint in their coat of arms, while art and literature allowed for black characters to be chivalrous and gallant. With the establishment of transatlantic slavery, the ›moor’s‹ noblesse was reduced to his extravagant oriental appearance, while he was attributed the social role of a servant in equivalence to the African slave in the colonies. Eventually, when Enlightenment thought fostered scientific justifications for plantation slavery, the ›moor‹ like the ›negro slave‹ was classified as racially inferior. Thus, in 1855, as the Tucher family started to promote beer with the ›moor’s head‹, this heraldic figure was long emptied of its initial positive attributions. Amidst other advertising ›moors‹ of the 19th century, it both benefitted from and contributed to the popularisation of racism. The preservation of the trademark symbol during the Nazi era, when other traditional representations of ›moors‹ were abandoned, further illustrates that a commodified and racialised image of the black had overwritten an icon of intercontinental œcumene.
Commercial advertising and commodity culture have been major influences of western societies sinc... more Commercial advertising and commodity culture have been major influences of western societies since the late nineteenth century, creating both images of identity and of otherness. Emerging in post-abolition America and colonialist Europe, early marketing campaigns presented a range of racial stereotypes and set the base for racialized trademarks and for widespread usage of racially charged visual language in promotional activities during the following century. Facing critique and opposition from social movements, racist advertising changed, but did not disappear. Following critical approaches to the analysis of commercial imagery and covering a range from early stereotyping to contemporary multiculturalism, this chapter reveals the perpetual promotion of whiteness through continuing pictorial exclusion and observes techniques of visual subordination as well as their historical transformation.
Narratives about Thomas Jefferson's relationship with his slave Sally Hemings have been inflaming... more Narratives about Thomas Jefferson's relationship with his slave Sally Hemings have been inflaming public debates in the United States for well over two hundred years, and in doing so constantly revealed present conditions of American racism. Emerging as an overtly racist campaign operating with violent language, the story was soon integrated in controversies about slavery and early biographers refused the accusations that Jefferson was »converting his house into an African brothel«. With further reception peaks in context of the Civil Rights Movement and on the eve of the ›post-racial‹ era, the affair was revisited in different stages of race relations, always being reformulated for the given situation. The present paper will illustrate how the controversy's adoption was shaped by these phases and, conversely, can be used to visualize the shifts in American racism.
Jefferson's concept of an »Empire of Liberty« has long been recognized as the blueprint of Americ... more Jefferson's concept of an »Empire of Liberty« has long been recognized as the blueprint of American exceptionalism and the Virginian himself as the most eminent »weaver of the national tale«. At the same time, Jefferson has been accused of being the »foremost racist of his era in America«, with his notorious comments on African Americans' natural inferiority representing his lapse into the scientific transgressions of his time. However, the racism of Thomas Jefferson was neither limited to his biologistic speculations about blacks nor to his involvement with plantation slavery and miscegenation, but rather represented an integral component of his imperial vision and encompassed a genuine American version of racial classification.
Francisco Bethencourt, Racisms. From the Crusades to the Twentieth Century, Princeton University ... more Francisco Bethencourt, Racisms. From the Crusades to the Twentieth Century, Princeton University Press, Princeton/Oxford 2013, 444 S., geb., 39,50 $.
Uploads
1. Kristen Brill, Exposing the Seedy Underbelly of Slavery: The Concept of the “Other” in United States Women’s Civil War Narratives
2. Joanna Frew, The Other in India and the Scottish Highlands: Traditional Societies and Improvement.
3. Antje Friedrich, The ‘Other’ from within: Afro-Germans as Scapegoats for the post-Second World War German Society.
4. Patrick Glen, Ziggy Stardust and the Music Press: Negotiating Transgressive Male Sexuality.
5. Aaron McGaughey, The Irkutsk Cultural Project: ‘Other’ peoples in late-Imperial Siberia, 1860-1917.
6. Sara Regnier McKellar, Manhood and Humour in the construction of the ‘other’ during the British Civil Wars, 1642-1651.
7. Sivamohan Valluvan, The European Imagination, Civic Nationalism and the Legacy of Oriental Despotism. "
1. Kristen Brill, Exposing the Seedy Underbelly of Slavery: The Concept of the “Other” in United States Women’s Civil War Narratives
2. Joanna Frew, The Other in India and the Scottish Highlands: Traditional Societies and Improvement.
3. Antje Friedrich, The ‘Other’ from within: Afro-Germans as Scapegoats for the post-Second World War German Society.
4. Patrick Glen, Ziggy Stardust and the Music Press: Negotiating Transgressive Male Sexuality.
5. Aaron McGaughey, The Irkutsk Cultural Project: ‘Other’ peoples in late-Imperial Siberia, 1860-1917.
6. Sara Regnier McKellar, Manhood and Humour in the construction of the ‘other’ during the British Civil Wars, 1642-1651.
7. Sivamohan Valluvan, The European Imagination, Civic Nationalism and the Legacy of Oriental Despotism. "