Ecocritical Perspectives on Art from the Americas and Caribbean

This panel seeks to provide a space to bring together scholars and topics that take ecocritical perspectives towards art and artistic practices from across the Americas and Caribbean to highlight new research, reflect on methodological issues, and revise or reorient art historical narratives. Ecocriticism has been latent, arguably, within the historiography of the art from the Americas and Caribbean, much of which centers on the impact of the continents’ geography and natural resources on art and artists. Yet how might the methods of ecocriticism or the environmental humanities provide opportunities to open the canon and strengthen or alter existing narratives and art histories? The region’s shared experiences of resource extraction, destruction of ecosystems and cultures, and the introduction invasive species and colonizers through colonization and imperialism testify to the passive and active impact of the environment historical events, so how might centering the landscape, climate, and ecosystems as influential actors in human culture reframe the art histories of this region?

Of particular interest is how Latinx, indigenous, or non-Western epistemologies and traditions might challenge, nuance, or complement the methodologies of ecocriticism that have been developed largely within the Anglo European academy. This panel encourages submissions on topics from all periods of study and creative fields including visual art, architecture, urban and graphic design, and the performing arts. Special consideration will be given to scholars and topics that are under-represented in the field.