The Newberry Library Colloquium

Professors Jean O’Brien and Coll Thrush, leaders of this summer’s Newberry Consortium for American Indian Studies institute, will discuss their upcoming course, including current trends in the study of indigenous and settler histories of place and how they connect to the power relations of on-going colonialism in the present-day United States and Canada. This course invites its participants to interrogate the dynamics that produced conflicting accounts of place, commemorated and erased particular histories that reshaped the landscape, and constituted ongoing locations of struggle over the meaning of social relations in the crucible of colonialism. Other topics will be explored, such as theories of place and memory, indigenous territorialities, Fort Dearborn as a commemorative place, pioneers, mapping, the World’s Columbian Exposition, museums, and urban communities and questions. Course members, drawn from fourteen member universities, will be introduced to current studies and discussions in indigenous studies, public history, the geographies of colonialism, and memory studies. The student participants will briefly describe the research that they plan to work on for their major project in the seminar.

The Newberry Library Colloquium is a weekly gathering of Newberry staff members, fellows, scholars-in-residence, and readers on Wednesday afternoon. Refreshments are available at 3:30 pm and an informal presentation begins at 4 pm, followed by discussion. The talks are varied, but all relate to the Newberry collections in some way. Speakers may describe a current research project, highlight a particular collection, or discuss one of the Library’s many ongoing or special programs. The Colloquium is open to the public and no reservations are required.