Colonialism’s Many Refractions: A Workshop in the Anthropology of Images

Conducted for the Harvard-Yenching Institute

This event, which will be held virtually, will allow four anthropologists who are experimenting with visual approaches to the representation of power in Asia, Europe, and the Americas to compare their research with a particular focus on the global impact of colonialism – both on the countries colonized and those that were not central to the colonial project but experienced its effects. The focus will be on the exoticism that colonial-era photography launched and that still persists, sometimes in unexpected ways. Speakers will address how hierarchies of culture and power are reflected onto groups of people as a way of classifying and organizing them and thereby ensuring their subaltern status. Audience participation in the discussions will be encouraged.

9:00-9:30 a.m. – Michael Herzfeld, moderator, Welcoming Remarks; “‘Enopticalization’ and the Realization of Crypto-Colonial Hierarchies in Greece and Thailand: Some Preliminary Thoughts to Launch a Debate”

9:30-10:00 a.m. – Konstantinos Kalantzis, “Sfakia, Photography, and the Crypto-Colonial”

10:10-10:40 am. – Myriam Lamrani, “Representing Power and Spirit: Greece and Mexico” (provisional title)

10:40-11:10 a.m. – Thành Bùi Việt, “Colonial Pictures in Highland – Vietnam through the view of visual Anthropology (1840-1945)

11:10a.m.-12 noon – DISCUSSION