CFP: Race and Representation in the French Colonial Empire
Co-convenors: Susannah Blair (Columbia University) and Dr Stephanie O’Rourke (University of St Andrews)
Contact details: seb2210@columbia.edu and so38@st-andrews.ac.uk
Abstract
This panel will consolidate new research on the visual culture of race in France and its colonies during the eighteenth century and into the nineteenth century. It will be oriented around two key terms, ‘representation’ and ‘possession’, and their many resonances – artistic, political, legal, and relational. We invite papers to explore how art objects articulated, contested, and disseminated changing notions of racial identity and citizenship in France and its global networks.
Over the past several years, scholars have examined the role of pictorial representation in shaping ideas of race, identity, indigeneity, and slavery in the context of the eighteenth-century British empire. However, as Anne Lafont observes in her recent book (L’Art et la race, 2019), the French case has received relatively less sustained attention. Bringing together new scholarship that builds upon these precedents, we aim to address a deliberately expansive geographical notion of French visual culture, one that includes the Caribbean, New France, Canada, and the Indian Ocean in addition to sites within the ‘metropole’ such as Paris and Nantes. Fostering a dialogue between art history, indigenous studies, and critical race theory, our panel will provide a crucial scholarly platform for research that can inform pedagogy, curatorial practice, and future scholarship.
How to Submit a Proposal:
We invite proposals for 25-minute papers. At present AAH is planning a hybrid event that will involve a physical conference as well as a digital participation option for those who cannot or would prefer not to attend in person. We encourage submissions from those who intend to participate in a digital-only capacity as well as from those interested in attending in person. To submit a paper proposal, please fill out the proposal form (bit.ly/3eVYWZu) and send it to seb2210@columbia.edu and so38@st-andrews.ac.uk by 19 October 2020. Please provide a title and abstract (250 words max), and a CV. For more information, visit forarthistory.org.uk/our-work/conference/2021-annual-conference/
ACRAH 