Always Coming Home: Territorial Relations and Collections Kin

CDHI is pleased to host Dr. Kimberly Christen as the fourth and final speaker in our Winter 2022 Visiting Speaker Series. Dr. Christen is a Professor in and Director of the Digital Technology and Culture Program and the Director of the Center for Digital Scholarship and Curation at Washington State University.

Dr. Christen’s talk is titled “Always Coming Home: Territorial Relations and Collections Kin.”

Abstract: Digital Humanities, like many scholarly pursuits, relies on the territorial, cultural, and intellectual property of Indigenous peoples, communities, and nations. The physical spaces we inhabit and the collections, data, archives, and texts that produce the fodder for DH projects all have colonial roots and ongoing settler colonial logics embedded. In this talk, I propose a reparative theoretical framework based in Indigenous relations to kin, territories, material belongings and systems of knowledge to unsettle standard academic practices of authorship, attribution, and accountability. At the same time, I emphasize a process of technological and territorial engagement that foregrounds long-term, sustainable, relationships that center Indigenous knowledge systems and practices.

The event is virtual via zoom. Pre-registration for this event is required.