Relational Knowing and Subjectivity

Accounts about relational knowing draw attention to the concrete processes through which knowledge is made. When an inquirer seeks to understand something, they do not typically encounter phenomena as entities or facts external to themselves. They are deeply intertwined with the world even as they attempt to understand it from their specific locations in space and time. Several scholars have begun tapping into, as well as developing their own, accounts of relational knowing.

This workshop will bring together scholars and practitioners who work on aspects of relational knowing as they pertain to world philosophies, history, and art history. The workshop will focus on both, the impact of relational knowing on notions of subjectivity as well as its ramifications.

In addition to the conceptual work on relational knowing, the workshop will focus on curatorial practices of indigenous /people of color who touch upon decolonial perspectives and practices in their curation. It will discuss their strategies for navigating museum spaces with their genealogies and embeddedness in colonialism. Further, it will ask whether art and artists provide space and new perspectives for a non-exploitative curatorial practice.