38th American Indian Workshop, July 4 – 6, 2017, at Goldsmiths, University of London
Proposals are invited for the 38th American Indian Workshop, to be held at Goldsmiths, University of London from July 4 – 6, 2017. Papers are welcome from all fields and on any topic, though priority will be given to those that speak of the conference’s key theme.
This year’s conference will focus on the art of resistance and resurgence in the broadest terms. This includes manifestations of activism, political insurgency, conservation work, language and cultural revitalization, cultural resurgence and historical and anthropological analysis alongside more literal literary and visual representations and occasions of resistance. Resistance, similarly, may be interpreted broadly (to settler colonialism, extra-national imposition, and so on) or more specifically (to pipelines, cultural appropriation, and more).
A number of analyses focusing on the cultural and political concerns of Native American artists have been offered in recent times. Accordingly, many scholars working in the field of Native American Literary Studies have bevome interested int he connection between aesthetics and activism. The theme of the 38th AIW has been chosen in recognition of this fact, and the increased amount of attention that is being paid to the intersection between indigenous arts and contemporary tribal contexts. Papers will exmaine the complexity of the relationship between various artistic mediums and the day-to-day concerns of the Native artist; the relationship between the arts and community; and the aesthetics of resistance and resurgence. The organizers hope that speakers will examine those points of connection, continue the debate concerning the links between indigenous art and cultures, and suggest that resistance and resurgence are discernible within a broad range of work by indigenous writers, directors, musicians and artists.
Topics to consider may include:
- Art and acticism
- The art of Idle No More
- Visual and literary responses to NoDAPL (No Dakota Access Pipelines)
- Language revitalization
- Cultural conservation programmes
- Visual sovereignty
- Digital arts
- Mixed media responses to mineral extraction
- Literature and the art of rhetorical sovereignty
- Indigenous performance art
- Honoring the treaties
- Gameplay and tribal arts and languages
- Exhibitiing indigenous art
- Anticolonial/Decolonial art practices
- Cultural engagement work
- Visual cultures of protest
- Indigenising new media
- Graphic novels
The organizers may be in a position to exhibit a small number of artworks and therefore invite submissions from visual artists and filmmakers as well as writers and scholars.
Please send proposals of no more than 400 words + brief CV to Padraig Kirwan and David Stirrup by December 15, 2016. Speakers will be notified by January 15, 2017.