[1] When History is Horrifying: Reflections on Teaching Difficult Topics in the Art History Classroom.

From: jdelossantossas.rutgers.edu
Date: 1 Mar 2020

Chairs:
Jenevieve DeLosSantos, PhD, Rutgers University
Kathleen Pierce, PhD, Rutgers University

2019 saw the continued production and display of artworks exploring violent and traumatic pasts—Kara Walker’s "Fons Americanus" at the Tate Modern; Kehinde Wiley’s "Rumors of War"; and debates around the removal and replacement of the public sculpture of J. Marion Sims in New York, for example—that no doubt spurred conversations around racialized and gendered violence, colonialism, slavery, and other horrors of history. Unlike other disciplines, the art history classroom is often a space where students encounter difficult moments of history translated into striking visual forms. Many students struggle to confront topics that might challenge their own understanding of history, highlight patterns of injustice often not discussed in the K–12 curriculum, or evoke deeply personal traumas rooted in violent histories. Thus, instructors are tasked with creating safe, inclusive, and productive classroom environments that facilitate the direct address of violent histories while simultaneously respecting students from diverse backgrounds. This panel seeks 15-minute papers examining the pedagogy of horrifying histories. We encourage both discussions of classroom exercises, strategies, and/or reflections on assignments as well as theoretical considerations of the teaching of difficult historical subjects.

For more information about SECAC 2020, please visit the conference page at: https://secacart.org/page/Richmond

Please submit abstracts of no more than 200 words until 1 April 2020 through the submissions portal at: https://secac.secure-platform.com/a

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[2] Breaking Open, Piecing Together: Queer Archival Labor

From: miriamkienlegmail.com
Date: 1 Mar 2020

Session Chairs: Jennifer Sichel and Miriam Kienle

This panel investigates how creative engagement with archival material can recuperate queer spaces and practices. Historically, queer practices have circumvented dominant institutions and experimented with materials and media not sanctioned by museums. Scholars must therefore devise new methods and strategies to scour archives for such material. This panel provides a forum for scholars and artists who conduct research at the intersection of sexuality, social engagement, and art history, and for whom archival work is central to their practice. As Jack Halberstam writes, “the archive is not simply a repository; it is also a theory of cultural relevance, a construction of collective memory, and a complex record of queer activity. In order for the archive to function, it requires users, interpreters, and cultural historians to wade through the material and piece together the jigsaw puzzle of queer history in the making.” We seek papers that embrace the queer labor of wading through material and piecing together fragments. Learning from Saidiya Hartman, we also seek work that "elaborates, augments, transposes, and breaks open archival documents." The papers selected will address the theoretical stakes and methodological challenges of doing queer archival labor by attending closely to intersections of queerness and race, class, dis/ability, and/or nationality.

All proposals must be submitted by 11:59 pm EDT on April 1, 2020. Please submit abstracts of no more than 200 words through the submissions portal at: https://secac.secure-platform.com/a

For more information about SECAC 2020, please visit the conference page at: https://secacart.org/page/Richmond

For questions or additional information about the panel, contact the session chairs: Miriam Kienle ( miriam.kienlegmail.com ) and Jennifer SIchel ( jasichelgmail.com )