At Home in the Tropics. Representations of the colonial home as a means of performing imperial power in the Dutch East Indies from 1880 to 1942

Abstract

This thesis focusses on representations of the colonial home as a means of performing imperial power in the former Dutch colony of Indonesia (Dutch East Indies) between 1880 and 1942. It analyses idealized images of the home, the domestication of imperial power within the household and cultural meanings attached to domestic objects to analyse the performance of Europeanness in domestic home-making practices. It uses household manuals, architectural source material, memoirs and personal stories from a growing database on living in colonial homes (www.beyondthebungalow.com). This thesis argues that the theoretical framework of the home is useful to gain a better understanding of Dutch imperial history in the late colonial period in the Dutch East Indies.