The University of Illinois Chicago Art History Graduate Student Association is thrilled to
extend an invitation for paper submissions for the upcoming Graduate Student
Symposium: A Planetary Art History: Critical Engagement with Boundaries and
Land, scheduled for September 21, 2024. This symposium seeks to explore conceptions of art history that complicate
borders, broaden cultural engagement, and celebrate human creativity on a planet-wide
scale.
A Planetary Art History: Critical Engagement with Boundaries and Land
challenges us to rethink the traditional boundaries of art history and embrace a
planetary vantage point—one that seeks to reconsider many of the structures and
ideologies that attempt to divide the planet. We seek to investigate how art evolves and
intersects across diverse cultures. Specific questions we are considering include: Can
various theoretical frameworks of the planetary enhance art historical perspectives?
How does a planetary approach to art history specifically foster critical inclusivity, mutual understanding, and the celebration of our shared humanity?


Topics may include, but are not limited to:
● Critical analysis of maps, cartography, land surveys, etc.
● Engagement with colonial art history as a visual tool of empire and/or nationhood
● Representation and recognition of marginalized voices in global art history
● Diasporic and migratory artistic expression
● Strategies for creating more planetary art historical narratives
● Cultural hybridity and inter-relational influence in art and visual culture
● Artistic responses to climate change and environmental challenges
● Considerations of environmental art and land art
● Art and theories that explore the notion of the Anthropocene—the geological
epoch when humans exist as a geological force, severely qualifies Humanist
histories of Modernity/Globalization
● Anthropological art histories that explore capitalism, climate change, and/or the
collapse of Human History and Natural History
● Creative engagement with the possibilities of a planetary future, such as
dystopias/utopias, Afrofuturism, technological advancement, etc.
Submission Guidelines:

We invite graduate students in all fields to submit abstracts for papers that explore the
theme of A Planetary Art History: Critical Engagement with Boundaries and Land.
Topics are not limited by location or timeframe, and broad interpretations are
encouraged. Abstracts should be no more than 300 words and should be submitted by
June 8, 2024 to uicarthistorysymposium@gmail.com, along with a current CV.