To speak of origins in the humanities is to speak in spirals. In the absence of some cause-and-effect model of explanation—long since ceded to certain precincts of science—the humanities often broach the concept of origins as ever-absent historical provocations.

Conference in association with the GHF exhibition In the Beginning: Exploring Origins in Contemporary Art (February 4-29, Fox Gallery, Logan Hall).

Conference Schedule
(Two concurrent panels in each session)

THURSDAY, 28 FEBRUARY

8:45, Opening Remarks

9:00–10:30, SESSION 1
• Pre-Modern Genres
• Tangled Origins: Identities and the Myths of Nations in the United States

10:45–12:15, SESSION 2
• The Excavation of Identities and the Genealogy of Nations
• Narratives of Nation and Universe in the Cold War

1:00–2:30, SESSION 3
• Gender and the Origins of “Herstory” in the Postwar United States
• Political Negotiations and Local Color: Nationalisms in Europe

2:45–4:15, SESSION 4
• Concepts of European Identity in History
• Man, Nature and Symbolism

5:00–6:30, KEYNOTE ADDRESS
• Googlization of Everything, Siva Vaidhyanathan      

FRIDAY, 29 FEBRUARY

9:00–10:30, SESSION 5
• Origins of the Ancients
• Subaltern Communication & Representation

10:45–12:45, SESSION 6
• Mutable Origins in a World of Artifacts
• Authentic Voices, Irish Spaces

1:45–3:00, SESSION 7
• Between The Oriental and The Modern
• Digital Origins

3:15–4:30, SESSION 8
• Political Space & Violence in 20th Century Theory
• The Roots and Routes of Black Culture and Black Identity

5:00–7:00, CLOSING ART RECEPTION
• In the Beginning: Exploring Origins in Contemporary Art