Epistemic Justice: Reclaiming Indigenous Knowledge-Systems Beyond the Post-colonial (NeMLA 2027 CFP - Cultural Studies and Media Studies / Interdisciplinary Humanities)
N/A
Organization: Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
Event: NeMLA 2027 CFP - Cultural Studies and Media Studies / Interdisciplinary Humanities
Cultural Studies and Media Studies / Interdisciplinary Humanities
This seminar opens up discussions on past and ongoing debates around indigeneity and indigenous lives. In America, the aboriginals assumed the title “First Nations” to distinguish their identity from that of the non-indigenous people. Historically, the European colonizers have classified the tribes for the sake of academic interest, colonial justification and administrative purposes. The British in India developed criminal ethnography archives and aspired to have systematic anthropometric methods to identify so-called ‘criminal tribes’. Native Americans in America were placed in reservations where their natural habitat was controlled, and residential schools adopted the government's ideology, restricting their ability to express themselves.
Indigenous communities from across the world have undergone experiences of exploitation, un/under-compensated coercive displacement, and asymmetrical access to socio-economic resources. The economic transformation of indigenous societies following colonial interventions has been shaped by historical and contemporary dynamics, influencing their livelihoods, right to resources and autonomy, and has led to disruption of their social structures. When navigating beyond their organic territory, the aboriginals often experience abuse, culture shock, and erosion of traditional knowledge due to forceful assimilation.
Referring to ethnographic exploits and documentary filmmaking, Lynda Jessup points out that ethnographic text-making of indigenous lives can run counter to “an ideology claiming transparency of representation and immediacy of experience.” When viewed in the context of contemporary critical anthropology, such artworks symbolize ethnographic authority based on Western masculine subjectivity.
Paper topics include (but are not limited to):
Ø Government projects and indigenous/aboriginal/tribal economy
Ø Cultural hybridity and culture shock in Indigenous narratives
Ø Epistemological Shifts in Indigenous Studies – Interdisciplinary Approaches
Ø Empowering Indigenous communities – Future Scopes and Limitations
Ø Artworks on Indigenous Lives and the Question of Ethics
Ø Indigenous Population, Migration, erosion of Traditional Knowledge
Ø Indigenous societies as fostering a culture of sharing and sustainability
Ø Totemism, ancestor-worship, indigenous performative rituals
https://cfplist.com/nemla/Home/S/22471
SARBANI BANERJEE