Settler Art History in a Postcolonial Context

Damian Skinner
Newton International Fellow at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge

Anne Whitelaw
Associate professor, Department of Art History, Concordia University

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 global questions?

The speakers are Damian Skinner, Newton International Fellow at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, and Anne Whitelaw, Concordia University Department of Art History associate professor. Tammer El-Sheikh will moderate the session.