"Afternoons at the Institute" - Settler Art History in a Postcolonial Context

At this first meeting, in a series of conversations that focuses on pressing questions and current issues in the research and writing of art histories, the speakers are Dr. Damian Skinner, Newton International Fellow at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, and Dr. Anne Whitelaw, associate professor of Canadian art Concordia University in Montreal. The session will be moderated by Dr. Tammer El-Sheikh.
Thursday, October 3rd at 16:00

The Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for Studies in Canadian Art is proud to be hosting a series of conversations entitled "Afternoons at the Institute". Bringing established and emerging scholars together, the series focuses on pressing questions and current issues in the research and writing of art histories. This inaugural event, Settler Art History in a Postcolonial Context on Oct. 3, explores a new branch of postcolonial studies: settler art history.

People of European descent and their descendants who have established themselves outside their native land are the settler artists of their new homeland. Current perspectives on art history, such as postcolonial theory, do not account for the specific patterns of colonization and nation building that distinguish settler nations. How then to account for the complexity of the dual cultural heritage of these societies? An emerging approach, "settler art history" tries to fill this gap. This conversation is an introduction to the theoretical and methodological issues that are at stake. How should the settler's perspective be integrated to the history of art? What theoretical constructs should be deployed? Methodologically, ethically, how can this study be conducted in art history? Are these national or a global questions?

The speakers are Dr. Damian Skinner, Newton International Fellow at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, and Dr. Anne Whitelaw, associate professor of Canadian art Concordia University in Montreal. The session will be moderated by Dr. Tammer El-Sheikh.

Additional information

For more information, please contact the series coordinator, Jarislowsky Foundation Doctoral Fellow Samuel Gaudreau-Lalande or call (514) 848-2424, ext. 4713.

All "Afternoons at the Institute" conversations are held in: EV-3.719
The Gail and Stephen A. Jarislowsky Institute for Studies in Canadian Art (3rd floor)
Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Complex
1515 Ste-Catherine Street West. Metro Guy-Concordia.

Thursday, October 3rd at 4:00-5:00pm

Conversations are free and open to the public.

The series has been made possible by a generous donation from the Jarislowsky Foundation.