Event overview
A talk by Uzma Rizvi Chaired by Annie Goh
NEW DATE - POSTPONED FROM 9 JUNE
Decolonization is not just an historical process but rather an action that is political at its core. As global efforts to redefine archaeological practice are underway to ensure a more just and equitable practice, political historiographies of colonial archaeology in high income postcolonies, such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), must also be investigated.
Epistemic violence embedded within colonial archaeology maintains itself under the guise of ‘science,’ as archaeology continues to make demands upon bodies, landscapes, memories, histories, and heritage.
This paper investigates what refusing to work in inequitable conditions might look like and what sorts of alternative pathways exist for an equitable and decolonized archaeological praxis. This will include entering archaeology (as a discipline) into transdisciplinary dialogue with contemporary art and design.
Engagement is not limited to a human to human interaction but rather, this paper will consider conceptual engagement as a key facet to epistemic rearrangements. Utilising over five years of work in and with collaborators in the UAE, in this paper, I will provide multiple formats through which ethical praxis emerged within frameworks of critical pedagogy, public engagement and archaeological practice.
Uzma Rizvi is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Urban Studies at the Pratt Institute, Brooklyn and a Visiting Scholar in the Department of International Studies at the American University of Sharjah, UAE. She is an anthropological archaeologist specialising in the archaeology of the first cities. She teach anthropology, ancient urbanism, issues in new materialisms, critical heritage studies, memory and war/trauma studies, decolonisation/the postcolonial critique, and social practice.
Her current research work is largely focused on Ancient India and Ancient UAE, both during the 3rd millennium BCE. Beyond these vast umbrellas of interest, she have a few distinct projects that have been occupying her research world of late. These include, but are not limited to, understanding ancient subjectivity and related to that, the idea of an intimate architecture; war and trauma in relationship to the urban fabric; and finally, epistemological critiques of archaeology that have emerged from my earlier work in postcolonial theory.
Part of the Department of Media, Communications and Cultural Studies Anti-Racist Matters lecture series
*If you have already registered for the previous date of 9 June there is no need to re-register: you will be sent the zoom link for 15 June via the original booking
Dates & times
| Date | Time | Add to calendar |
|---|---|---|
| 15 Jun 2021 | 5:00pm - 6:30pm |
Accessibility
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