The Department of History invites you to its annual Undergraduate History Conference. Keynote speaker Dr. Mostafa Minawi will discuss "International Law and Colonialism in Africa at the Turn of the 20th Century: The Ottoman Case" on Friday, April 5, from 5-7 p.m. in Founders Hall 232.

This talk reflects on the implications of "juridical colonialism"-the legalistic justification of European colonization of non-European lands—on the Ottoman Empire's own imperial project. Tracing the involvement of the Ottoman Empire in multi-lateral agreements which affirmed or assumed Ottoman sovereignty, Minawi will show how European Powers increasingly marginalized Ottoman legal rights through extra-legal methods. Using the challenges to Ottoman sovereignty along the Somali Coast, he argues that the legalistic justifications for usurping Ottoman sovereignty in Africa can only be fully understood if we think of late-19th-century International Law as a system of beliefs rooted in a history of Eurocentric notions of sovereignty that privileged European states' belief in of their superiority over the letter of the law.

Minawi's current research focuses on Ottoman Imperialism on the African Red Sea Coast at the turn of the 20th century. His first book, The Ottoman Scramble for Africa (Stanford University Press, 2016) was translated and published in Turkish in 2018. Outside of academia, he is involved in volunteer work related to the global refugee crisis and rising risk to scholars around the world.

Refreshments will be served.

On Saturday, April 6, students will present their research projects in Founders Hall 232 from 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. For a copy of the conference program, contact the History Department at histdept@humboldt.edu.

This event is open to HSU students, faculty, staff and the community. Persons who wish to request disability related accommodations should contact the History Department at 707-826-3641 or histdept@humboldt.edu as soon as possible.