LISTEN: Decolonising and Indigenising Architectural History Curricula:I chaired the organization of the first annual Society for Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand with the guidance of Brian Martin, the head of the Wominjeka Djeembana Lab in the Faculty of Art Design and Architecture and with the assistance of Alex J. Brown and Maryam Gusheh.

Activity: Participating in or organising an event typesContribution to workshop, seminar, course

Description

Workshop Provocation:
How can architectural historians meaningfully and sensitively engage with decolonising and Indigenising the curriculum we teach? How can we trace histories of the diverse 'ways of being, knowing and doing' that are embedded within multiple worldviews? How do we decolonise our own practices as historians, as teachers and as members of SAHANZ, to further develop respectful and responsible engagement with Country, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Māori and Pasifika Peoples and their knowledges?

We believe the first task is to Listen. By ceding our voice to the leadership, guidance, and advice of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Māori, and Pasifika cultures and people we can begin this process. With this in our minds and hearts, Listen proposes a series of workshops led by leading and emerging Indigenous scholars to explore modes of collaboration to develop approaches for expanding, reconfiguring and redefining architectural histories an the histories, pedagogies, and practices of our discipline.

The traditional Eurocentric canon of architectural history is ill-suited to respond to the growing need to holistically understand, engage, and transform the rapidly changing world in which we live. That history, largely of colonisation and oppression, fails to address knowledges and experiences from the peoples who have inhabited places other than Western Europe. There have been notable and laudable attempts to expand the scope of architectural history taught in western academia to include more diverse understandings of architecture and design and how meaning and purpose may be embodied in the built environment. The Global Architectural History Teaching Collaborative and the Teacher to Teacher Workshops by the Society of Architectural Historians are such initiatives. However, the aim of this year’s SAHANZ pedagogy workshop is not to supplement the European canon, but rather to listen and learn in order to co-create strategies for teaching, practice, and life that reject and dismantle Europe’s outsized and undeserved role as the measure of historical endeavour. This will also lighten the cultural load currently being placed on Indigenous scholars and practitioners.

The themes and topics of the workshops will continue to develop in dialogue with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Māori, and Pasifika scholars and practitioners over the course of the two days. We will facilitate alongside the workshop leaders to support the development of foundational papers/documents that will explore approaches to the teaching, learning and practice of architectural history. Following the workshops, preliminary outcomes will be further co-developed for publication and other potential outputs.
Period5 Apr 20246 Apr 2024
Event typeWorkshop
LocationCaulfield East, Australia, VictoriaShow on map
Degree of RecognitionInternational

Keywords

  • architectural history
  • decolonisation
  • Indigenous Education
  • architectural education