Seminar/Webinar - Postcolonial Paradise? Governing Island Futures in Mauritius

The Islands and Small States Institute (ISSI) of the University of Malta will be holding a seminar titled “Postcolonial Paradise? Governing Island Futures in Mauritius”.

The event will be held at the University of Malta, Room CHBO-416, with virtual attendance also possible, and will take place on Thursday 4 June 2026, at 15:00 CEST. Online participation requires online registration.  

This hybrid research lecture examines how contemporary island futures are shaped through imaginaries of paradise, sustainability, and smart urbanism, focusing on the case of Mauritius. Drawing on perspectives from media geography, urban studies, and critical tourism research, the seminar explores how colonial imaginaries continue to inform both media representations and current urban transformation processes on the island.

Particular attention is paid to smart city developments currently emerging on former sugarcane plantation land in Mauritius. These projects are frequently marketed as sustainable and future-oriented urban environments, while simultaneously mobilising architectural references to colonial plantation heritage and carefully curated lifestyle imaginaries.

Building on recent research on “entangled temporalities” in smart urbanism, the lecture discusses how re-imagined colonial pasts, harmonious presents, and controlled futures become intertwined within contemporary urban development. Through selected visual examples, including marketing materials, architectural renderings, and planning narratives, the lecture reflects on how particular visions of island futures are normalised, aestheticised, and spatially materialised.

The session concludes with an open discussion on postcolonial island futures, smart urbanism in island contexts, and broader questions surrounding place making, landscape transformation, colonial continuity, and selective forms of social inclusion.

Speaker

Dr Elisabeth Sommerlad is a postdoctoral researcher in Human Geography at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Germany), where she works at the intersection of media geography, urban social geography, and critical tourism studies. Her research focuses on postcolonial urban transformations, island futures, and the role of media and visual culture in shaping spatial imaginaries and placemaking processes.

A particular regional focus of her work lies on Mauritius and the Indian Ocean, where she examines and cross-media constructions of a “paradise island”, plantation afterlives, smart urbanism, and sustainability imaginaries. Methodologically, her work combines qualitative social research with visual and creative approaches, including ethnographic, audiovisual, and media-based methods. She is currently Programme Director of the international MA programme Human Geography: Globalisation, Media and Culture at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and serves as co-editor of the book series Media Geography (Steiner Verlag).

The event will be hosted by Prof. Stefano Moncada, Director of the ISSI, and moderated by Dr Pedro Pombo, Lecturer at the Institute.