This research project, funded by the British Academy, explores a ‘forgotten’ moment of French colonization. In 1924, in order to promote colonial ideology, several groups of elite students were sent to various parts of the French Empire, to witness the excellence of France’s ‘colonizing mission’ and to become its promoters upon their return – today we would call them ‘colonial influencers’. However, the expeditions failed to reach their aim, and had no tangible results. These expeditions were ultimately forgotten, and were previously unknown to scholarship as well.
Dr Gelléri discovered archival evidence of one of these expeditions, an all-female group travelling to Indochina, today’s Vietnam and Cambodia. Subsequently, he identified the participants of the expedition, and met their descendants, who shared with him a variety of unpublished materials: several travelogues, and hundreds of photographs. Through these accounts, we discover a fascinating story. On the one hand, the students were travelling in luxury: they were kitted out in designer clothes, met the local elites, and marvelled at the sights of Angkor and Halong Bay. On the other hand, the travel was marred by conflict: there were internal clashes, disagreements with the organizers and the students also discovered the darker sides of colonialism.
This unique case study provides an insight into a variety of topics. We gain a better understanding of the experience of colonialism and of its afterlife, and of the early days of colonial tourism. But the project also offers an insight into what it meant to be a female student in the 1920s, in France itself and in the colonies. The project’s aim is to create, beyond scholarly publications, an exhibition and a documentary film.