Vienna Lectures in Canadian Studies / Conférences de Vienne en Études Canadiennes (VLCS/CVEC)

The Centre for Canadian Studies at the University of Vienna has initiated a new lecture series entitled “Vienna Lectures in Canadian Studies / Conférences de Vienne en Études Canadiennes,” which will be hosted annually by one of the Centre’s two directing departments. For the series’ inaugural lecture on January 21, 2016, Prof. Dr. Jörg Türschmann (Department of Romance Languages) and Prof. Dr. Alexandra Ganser (Department of English and American Studies) hosted Prof. Ruth Phillips, Canada Research Chair in Modern Culture, Professor of Art History at Carleton University, Ottawa, and one of the leading experts in Native North American art and (visual) culture.

In her talk, entitled “‘Between Rocks and Hard Places’: Indigenous Lands, Settler Art Histories, and the ‘Battle for the Woodlands,’” Prof. Phillips discussed the history and development of indigenous art, from rock paintings as the earliest places of human literacy to modern art installations such as those initiated by Ojibwe performance artist and sculptor Bonnie Divine. As such, Prof. Phillips engaged with the history of erasure of indigenous markings, and the necessity for and importance of reestablishing bonds between people and paintings. 

During her stay in Vienna, Prof. Phillips and three First Nations PhD-candidates from the University of Ottawa traveling with her also visited the Great-Lakes collection at the Weltmuseum Wien to conduct research for their own projects. 

The next Vienna Lecture in Canadian Studies will be hosted by the Department of Romance Languages. All VLCS will be published as Vienna Working Papers in Canadian Studies on the Centre for Canadian Studies’ homepage.