Join us for the latest in our work in progress sessions with Dr. Chiara Ministrelli, Lecturer in the School of Media at London College of Communication
Fri 19th Feb from 4pm
For the pre-circulated paper and zoom link contact us at indigenousstudies@kent.ac.uk
Key concepts in Indigenous studies, the term ‘decoloniality’ (Mignolo, 2018) and the verb ‘decolonise’ (Denzin, Lincoln, Smith, 2008; Smith, 1999) have acquired currency in the most disparate academic and non-academic milieux over the past decade, thus becoming almost moral imperatives that often transcend their original meaning and context (Tuck and Yang, 2012). Incorporating stories from the Field, the first half of this work in progress aims to explore decolonial prospects and the role of ‘White’ scholars in rethinking effective allyship and fruitful collaboration (see Land, 2015). In the second half, it raises questions about academic constraints and emerging possibilities. This paper is thus grounded within a self-reflexive framework that aims to investigate subjective positionings vis-à-vis the analysis of those intersecting dimensions constituted by power and education, on the one hand, and Whiteness and gender, on the other. Primarily, it examines academic praxis, subjectivity, and positionality by interrogating the complexities of embracing a decolonial ethos when working with Indigenous peoples within and outside settler-colonial contexts. In doing so, I further reflect on what it means to contribute to the ‘decolonisation’ of academic approaches and the dominant narratives that have been at the heart of the ‘canon’. What are the kinds of interventions that are still needed to shift dominant paradigms and re-orient or ‘re-route’ academic disciplines confined within their own parameters? And are the digital humanities a viable arena for discussing the future of Indigenous knowledges in the posthuman era (Braidotti, 2019)? Rather than looking for definitive answers, these questions endeavour to initiate a dialogue where multiple voices and diverse perspectives are embraced.
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Dr Chiara Minestrelli is a Lecturer in the School of Media at the London College of Communication (University of the Arts London) and Acting Course Leader of the BA (HONS) Contemporary Media Cultures. She is a member of the Menzies Australia Institute (King’s College London), where she was a Visiting Fellow from 2017 until 2019. She holds a PhD in Indigenous Studies from Monash University where she conducted research on Australian Indigenous Hip Hop, identity, culture, spirituality and the role of the media in identity formation. Her book, Australian Indigenous Hip Hop: The Politics of Culture, Identity, and Spirituality (Routledge) is an ethnographic study that investigates the discursive and performative strategies employed by Australian Indigenous artists to make sense of the world and establish a position of authority over their identity and place in society. In 2018-19, she organised a series of workshops, Sonic Futures, that combined Hip Hop Critical Pedagogies, critical theory and notions of gardening to explore identity and social issues. This project was supported through the Teaching and Learning Fund awarded by the London College of Communication.