Rock Paintings and Anishinaabeg Iconological Sovereignty - Feb. 26

[Arts Communications]

Join the Department of Anthropology for "Rock Paintings and Anishinaabeg Iconological Sovereignty" with Christopher Watts, Associate Professor
When: Thursday, February 26, 2026 at 4:15 pm
Where: PAS 2030
About the talk:
In this talk, I explore ancestral Anishinaabeg rock paintings of the Canadian Shield with an eye toward moving beyond traditional analytical priorities. In highlighting how contemporary Anishinaabeg communities interact with and interpret the rock paintings, I seek to forefront epistemic commitments including dreamwork, slipstreaming, and what may be termed ‘narrative ekphrasis’. In doing so, I critique the authoritative gaze of what Damien Skinner refers to as ‘settler-colonial art history’ while advocating for an iconological sovereignty informed by Anishinaabeg temporalities and ontologies. Moreover, by exploring how an Anishinaabeg iconology decenters settler-state approaches, this talk shows how rock paintings actively participate in ongoing Anishinaabeg lifeways, serving both metaphysical and political ends. Moving beyond the confines of colonial discourses, this approach illuminates a dynamic engagement with the past where rock paintings provoke new understandings in the present and inspire future engagements.
More events in Anthropology<https://uwaterloo.ca/anthropology/events>
________________________________________________________________________________________________

You are receiving this email because you are part of the Arts Announce email list from the Faculty of Arts.
About Arts Announce<https://uwaterloo.ca/arts-faculty-staff-resources/communication/artsannounce-email-list> | Unsubscribe<mailto:artsannounce-leave at artslist.uwaterloo.ca?subject=Please%20unscubscribe%20me%20from%20artsannounce> from Arts Announce.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://artsservices.uwaterloo.ca/pipermail/artsannounce/attachments/20260224/ecf09381/attachment.htm>