Colonial reproductions of everyday spaces: An analysis of the Empress Hotel

dc.contributor.authorMilanova, Maria
dc.contributor.supervisorMarin, Mara
dc.date.accessioned2024-09-27T23:22:14Z
dc.date.available2024-09-27T23:22:14Z
dc.date.issued2024
dc.degree.departmentDepartment of Political Science
dc.degree.levelMaster of Arts MA
dc.description.abstractMy thesis argues that the Empress Hotel functions as a colonial infrastructure that not only normalizes but actively reproduces colonial power dynamics through its spatial organization. This landmark embodies and reinforces historical colonial power structures while simultaneously generating new forms of colonial relations, thereby perpetuating the disruption of Indigenous relationships with the land. I make three arguments about how colonialism and colonial relations are embodied and reproduced through the material and spatial structure of the Empress. First, I argue that the Empress Hotel's strategic location atop reclaimed land asserts colonial domination by rendering Indigenous lands as "waste" to be “civilized”. Second, I argue that the Empress’ architecture, the Baronial-Chateau style inspired by European traditions, symbolizes the Canadian state's efforts to legitimize its colonial project and assert its sovereignty. Third, I argue that the practices and artifacts of colonial spaces, including the themed rooms of the Empress, the Bengal Lounge and Palm Court, and ritualized practices like afternoon tea, recreate colonial social hierarchies and relations. I further argue that the organization of these colonial social spaces is inextricably linked to the production of power, with the two being mutually dependent. By examining the micro-level manifestations of colonial power in the Empress Hotel, I illuminate the broader mechanisms of macro-level political domination. This approach addresses a gap in political science, which traditionally overlooks how power manifests in everyday colonial structures. The study contributes to our understanding of how colonial power manifests in everyday structures by critically expanding Henri Lefebvre's work through integration with Glen Coulthard's notion of "colonial relations" to provide a more comprehensive framework for analyzing settler colonialism and the reproduction of colonial relations spatially. At the same time, the research also discloses the potential for resistance in relation to alternative ways of inhabiting these spaces. In so doing, I emphasize the need for critical engagement with the spaces we inhabit and experience.
dc.description.embargo2025-09-10
dc.description.scholarlevelGraduate
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1828/20463
dc.languageEnglisheng
dc.language.isoen
dc.rightsAvailable to the World Wide Web
dc.subjectcolonialism
dc.subjectpolitical theory
dc.subjectproduction of space
dc.subjectsocial space
dc.subjectsocial relations
dc.subjectcolonial relations
dc.subjectwaste
dc.subjectcivility
dc.subjectpower
dc.subjecteveryday
dc.subjectHenri Lefebvre
dc.titleColonial reproductions of everyday spaces: An analysis of the Empress Hotel
dc.typeThesis

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