On Thursday, Dec. 7, in Fayerweather Hall, room 102, from 2-5 pm, we will host professor Stella Nair for a lecture on Inka Ephermerality, part of her new book project, "Inca Architecture: Chapters in the History of a (Gendered) Profession." The talk will go from 2-3:30 pm, ish, and be followed by a reception until 5.
The reception will serve as our end-of-year party for the Indigenous Studies PhD Fellowship, wrapping up a semester with a public conversation and cooking demo on food sovereignty, a lecture and graduate seminar on displaying Indigenous art in Italy, and other things that I am forgetting about because it has been a long week. So come join us!
Abstract:
With its impressive stone walls that have survived for over 500 years, Inca architecture projects an image of permeance. Yet, much of Inca architecture was intentionally made to be ephemeral. Thus, the majority of the Inca built environment has escaped serious study. In this talk, Nair examines some of the lost half of Inca architecture, and in doing so, raises critical questions about how we understand Inca spaces and history.
Bio:
Stella Nair is Associate Professor of Indigenous Arts of the Americas in the Department of Art History at UCLA, where she is also core faculty in the American Indian Studies program and director of the Architecture Laboratory in the Cotsen Institute. For the 2023-24 year, Stella Nair is a fellow at the National Humanities Center in Durham, NC, working on her current project, "Inca Architecture: Chapters in the History of a (Gendered) Profession," which highlights the profound ways in which women designed, constructed, used, and gave meaning to Inca spaces and places.
The visit is sponsored by the Department of Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese and Art and the Department of Art.