David Gaertner | University of British Columbia (original) (raw)
Papers by David Gaertner
Dunlop Art Gallery eBooks, 2015
Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, Jul 8, 2011
According to Charles Hauss, "[i]n the last few years, reconciliation has become one of the 'hotte... more According to Charles Hauss, "[i]n the last few years, reconciliation has become one of the 'hottest' topics in the increasingly 'hot' field of conflict resolution" (2003, ¶1). However, despite the apparent interest in this "hot" academic topic (which is becoming increasingly warm in Canada as our own Truth and Reconciliation Commission commences), reconciliation studies have been dominated by Truth-based approaches. The restrictions of these approaches, which emphasize objectivity and rationality, often elide the body and the primacy of emotions in the reparative process. This essay begins a conversation on the role of the body and emotion in the study of reconciliation by engaging the work being done in the social sciences with contemporary trends in critical theory and literature. I argue that by looking at the fundamental role the body plays on the "road to reconciliation" we can devise a more vital approach to conflict resolution and the various processes that make it up.
McGill-Queen's University Press eBooks, Jun 1, 2014
University of British Columbia Press eBooks, Nov 15, 2020
Canadian Literature, 2015
The return of the repressed is a pervasive trope in Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach and it has been ... more The return of the repressed is a pervasive trope in Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach and it has been well theorized in the criticism surrounding the novel—from a Freudian perspective. However, in order to fully understand the aesthetics and politics of this important text more work is needed to develop the ways in which readers can engage with repression and its return from an Indigenous—and more specifically—Haisla, point of view. Via close reading and historical analysis, this essay locates the return of the repressed in relation to settler colonialism and traditional Haisla storytelling and fundamentally reframes arguments concerning psychoanalytic critique and Indigenous literature.
English Studies in Canada, 2011
ABSTRACT
American Indian Culture and Research Journal, Dec 1, 2015
David Gaertner Land is a vital part of how the indigenous peoples of Turtle Island (an indigenous... more David Gaertner Land is a vital part of how the indigenous peoples of Turtle Island (an indigenous name for North America), develop and interpret identity and community. While land represents a fundamental part of this conception, many contemporary scholars working in indigenous studies are analyzing the development of offland, urban indigenous spaces. Building on research that moves away from homelands towards the study of new urban communities, this article illustrates how indigenous artists confront settler colonialism when creating indigenous territory in yet another urban terrain: cyberspace. While cyberspace can be a fraught, white, and neocolonial environment, artists and curators such as Kevin Lee Burton (Swampy Cree) and Skawennati Tricia Fragnito (Mohawk) are finding ways to build and maintain dynamic indigenous spaces in the digital realm, remediating intertribal events and translating guesthood protocols into digital spaces.
In the last decade, reconciliation, apology, and forgiveness have become omnipresent forces in th... more In the last decade, reconciliation, apology, and forgiveness have become omnipresent forces in the international political sphere. Since the Nuremberg trials, strict retribution is no longer the responsible method for dealing with atrocity. Reconciliation offers conflict resolution that redresses historical injustice by appealing to reparative models of justice aimed at healing the rifts between victims and perpetrators. In 2006, Canada became the latest country to adopt a state-sponsored process of reconciliation. The Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established to "contribute to truth, healing and reconciliation" ("Schedule 'N'", 1) between Native and non-Native groups in Canada. This dissertation maps out the history of reconciliation as it is connected to Canada and identifies the ways in which the TRC facilitates and confounds conflict resolution in a colonial state. By critically analysing contemporary literature, film, politics and social movements, my dissertation develops a materialist approach to reconciliation via the ideas of "the call," apology, reparation and forgiveness, applying these ideas to the lived experience (emotional, political, financial) that individuals and communities have to contend with in the reconciliatory process. In this dissertation I argue against those who suggest that the emergence of reconciliation in the modern era indicates that the international community is "returning to harmony" (Wagamese 134). As opposed to defining it as an indicator of burgeoning ethical politics, I suggest that "reconciliation," particularly in how it is being articulated in settler states, is being deployed as a means to close off difference and contradiction and facilitate self-interest. As such, reconciliation must be approached as an ideological instrument rather than as "a potentially new international morality" (Barkan ix).
In the last decade, reconciliation, apology, and forgiveness have become omnipresent forces in th... more In the last decade, reconciliation, apology, and forgiveness have become omnipresent forces in the international political sphere. Since the Nuremberg trials, strict retribution is no longer the responsible method for dealing with atrocity. Reconciliation offers conflict resolution that redresses historical injustice by appealing to reparative models of justice aimed at healing the rifts between victims and perpetrators. In 2006, Canada became the latest country to adopt a state-sponsored process of reconciliation. The Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established to "contribute to truth, healing and reconciliation" ("Schedule 'N'", 1) between Native and non-Native groups in Canada. This dissertation maps out the history of reconciliation as it is connected to Canada and identifies the ways in which the TRC facilitates and confounds conflict resolution in a colonial state. By critically analysing contemporary literature, film, politics and social movements, my dissertation develops a materialist approach to reconciliation via the ideas of "the call," apology, reparation and forgiveness, applying these ideas to the lived experience (emotional, political, financial) that individuals and communities have to contend with in the reconciliatory process. In this dissertation I argue against those who suggest that the emergence of reconciliation in the modern era indicates that the international community is "returning to harmony" (Wagamese 134). As opposed to defining it as an indicator of burgeoning ethical politics, I suggest that "reconciliation," particularly in how it is being articulated in settler states, is being deployed as a means to close off difference and contradiction and facilitate self-interest. As such, reconciliation must be approached as an ideological instrument rather than as "a potentially new international morality" (Barkan ix).
Anglistica AION, 2021
Inuit adaptation technologies, which have been in place for thousands of years, provide unique in... more Inuit adaptation technologies, which have been in place for thousands of years, provide unique insight into the burgeoning field of Indigenous video game studies by advancing sovereign articulations of technology in digital space. Grounded in the principles of ikiaqtaq, an adaptation of a song, Never Alone / Kisima Ingitchuna (2014), extends and nuances how Indigenous stories translate into video games by foregrounding community sustainability and cultural flexibility. Addressing Iñupiaq video game development specifically, this essay demonstrates how ikiaqtaq, as demonstrated in Never Alone, generates the conditions for sovereign storytelling in the digital.
Spurred by the need to make research and education accessible to all, the open movement has gaine... more Spurred by the need to make research and education accessible to all, the open movement has gained ground as the Internet evolved to enable easy sharing of different forms of media and scholarship. Open practices are enabling faculty, staff and students at educational institutions in British Columbia and beyond to reduce barriers to research and education by opening their classrooms, incorporating new resources and perspectives, broadly sharing their data, and contributing to public knowledge. But the adoption of open scholarship cannot be assumed to free of biases and conflicts, and the impacts of open practices can differ depending on the context of those practices. Unaddressed tensions caused by "openness" can lead scholars, students, and community members to feel alienated, exploited, or unheard. Unexamined risks can lead to unintended outcomes for any open endeavours. Within these intersections lies an opportunity for open scholarship: to directly examine and acknowle...
American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 2015
David Gaertner Land is a vital part of how the indigenous peoples of Turtle Island (an indigenous... more David Gaertner Land is a vital part of how the indigenous peoples of Turtle Island (an indigenous name for North America), develop and interpret identity and community. While land represents a fundamental part of this conception, many contemporary scholars working in indigenous studies are analyzing the development of offland, urban indigenous spaces. Building on research that moves away from homelands towards the study of new urban communities, this article illustrates how indigenous artists confront settler colonialism when creating indigenous territory in yet another urban terrain: cyberspace. While cyberspace can be a fraught, white, and neocolonial environment, artists and curators such as Kevin Lee Burton (Swampy Cree) and Skawennati Tricia Fragnito (Mohawk) are finding ways to build and maintain dynamic indigenous spaces in the digital realm, remediating intertribal events and translating guesthood protocols into digital spaces.
ESC: English Studies in Canada, 2009
"New media artist Skawennati’s Realizing the Virtual: A TimeTravellerTM Experience features ... more "New media artist Skawennati’s Realizing the Virtual: A TimeTravellerTM Experience features a nine-episode machinima series, created in Second Life. It tells the story of a 22nd century Mohawk man who uses his edutainment system, TimeTravellerTM , to embark on a technologically-enhanced vision quest, visiting historical events significant to First Nations. Dunlop’s presentation of the TimeTravellerTM series that will take place in a uniquely-designed, real-world environment that mimics the artist’s virtual world, created by Skawennati and collaborators." -- Publisher's website.
The return of the repressed is a pervasive trope in Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach and it has been ... more The return of the repressed is a pervasive trope in Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach and it has been well theorized in the criticism surrounding the novel—from a Freudian perspective. However, in order to fully understand the aesthetics and politics of this important text more work is needed to develop the ways in which readers can engage with repression and its return from an Indigenous—and more specifically—Haisla, point of view. Via close reading and historical analysis, this essay locates the return of the repressed in relation to settler colonialism and traditional Haisla storytelling and fundamentally reframes arguments concerning psychoanalytic critique and Indigenous literature.
Dunlop Art Gallery eBooks, 2015
Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, Jul 8, 2011
According to Charles Hauss, "[i]n the last few years, reconciliation has become one of the 'hotte... more According to Charles Hauss, "[i]n the last few years, reconciliation has become one of the 'hottest' topics in the increasingly 'hot' field of conflict resolution" (2003, ¶1). However, despite the apparent interest in this "hot" academic topic (which is becoming increasingly warm in Canada as our own Truth and Reconciliation Commission commences), reconciliation studies have been dominated by Truth-based approaches. The restrictions of these approaches, which emphasize objectivity and rationality, often elide the body and the primacy of emotions in the reparative process. This essay begins a conversation on the role of the body and emotion in the study of reconciliation by engaging the work being done in the social sciences with contemporary trends in critical theory and literature. I argue that by looking at the fundamental role the body plays on the "road to reconciliation" we can devise a more vital approach to conflict resolution and the various processes that make it up.
McGill-Queen's University Press eBooks, Jun 1, 2014
University of British Columbia Press eBooks, Nov 15, 2020
Canadian Literature, 2015
The return of the repressed is a pervasive trope in Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach and it has been ... more The return of the repressed is a pervasive trope in Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach and it has been well theorized in the criticism surrounding the novel—from a Freudian perspective. However, in order to fully understand the aesthetics and politics of this important text more work is needed to develop the ways in which readers can engage with repression and its return from an Indigenous—and more specifically—Haisla, point of view. Via close reading and historical analysis, this essay locates the return of the repressed in relation to settler colonialism and traditional Haisla storytelling and fundamentally reframes arguments concerning psychoanalytic critique and Indigenous literature.
English Studies in Canada, 2011
ABSTRACT
American Indian Culture and Research Journal, Dec 1, 2015
David Gaertner Land is a vital part of how the indigenous peoples of Turtle Island (an indigenous... more David Gaertner Land is a vital part of how the indigenous peoples of Turtle Island (an indigenous name for North America), develop and interpret identity and community. While land represents a fundamental part of this conception, many contemporary scholars working in indigenous studies are analyzing the development of offland, urban indigenous spaces. Building on research that moves away from homelands towards the study of new urban communities, this article illustrates how indigenous artists confront settler colonialism when creating indigenous territory in yet another urban terrain: cyberspace. While cyberspace can be a fraught, white, and neocolonial environment, artists and curators such as Kevin Lee Burton (Swampy Cree) and Skawennati Tricia Fragnito (Mohawk) are finding ways to build and maintain dynamic indigenous spaces in the digital realm, remediating intertribal events and translating guesthood protocols into digital spaces.
In the last decade, reconciliation, apology, and forgiveness have become omnipresent forces in th... more In the last decade, reconciliation, apology, and forgiveness have become omnipresent forces in the international political sphere. Since the Nuremberg trials, strict retribution is no longer the responsible method for dealing with atrocity. Reconciliation offers conflict resolution that redresses historical injustice by appealing to reparative models of justice aimed at healing the rifts between victims and perpetrators. In 2006, Canada became the latest country to adopt a state-sponsored process of reconciliation. The Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established to "contribute to truth, healing and reconciliation" ("Schedule 'N'", 1) between Native and non-Native groups in Canada. This dissertation maps out the history of reconciliation as it is connected to Canada and identifies the ways in which the TRC facilitates and confounds conflict resolution in a colonial state. By critically analysing contemporary literature, film, politics and social movements, my dissertation develops a materialist approach to reconciliation via the ideas of "the call," apology, reparation and forgiveness, applying these ideas to the lived experience (emotional, political, financial) that individuals and communities have to contend with in the reconciliatory process. In this dissertation I argue against those who suggest that the emergence of reconciliation in the modern era indicates that the international community is "returning to harmony" (Wagamese 134). As opposed to defining it as an indicator of burgeoning ethical politics, I suggest that "reconciliation," particularly in how it is being articulated in settler states, is being deployed as a means to close off difference and contradiction and facilitate self-interest. As such, reconciliation must be approached as an ideological instrument rather than as "a potentially new international morality" (Barkan ix).
In the last decade, reconciliation, apology, and forgiveness have become omnipresent forces in th... more In the last decade, reconciliation, apology, and forgiveness have become omnipresent forces in the international political sphere. Since the Nuremberg trials, strict retribution is no longer the responsible method for dealing with atrocity. Reconciliation offers conflict resolution that redresses historical injustice by appealing to reparative models of justice aimed at healing the rifts between victims and perpetrators. In 2006, Canada became the latest country to adopt a state-sponsored process of reconciliation. The Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was established to "contribute to truth, healing and reconciliation" ("Schedule 'N'", 1) between Native and non-Native groups in Canada. This dissertation maps out the history of reconciliation as it is connected to Canada and identifies the ways in which the TRC facilitates and confounds conflict resolution in a colonial state. By critically analysing contemporary literature, film, politics and social movements, my dissertation develops a materialist approach to reconciliation via the ideas of "the call," apology, reparation and forgiveness, applying these ideas to the lived experience (emotional, political, financial) that individuals and communities have to contend with in the reconciliatory process. In this dissertation I argue against those who suggest that the emergence of reconciliation in the modern era indicates that the international community is "returning to harmony" (Wagamese 134). As opposed to defining it as an indicator of burgeoning ethical politics, I suggest that "reconciliation," particularly in how it is being articulated in settler states, is being deployed as a means to close off difference and contradiction and facilitate self-interest. As such, reconciliation must be approached as an ideological instrument rather than as "a potentially new international morality" (Barkan ix).
Anglistica AION, 2021
Inuit adaptation technologies, which have been in place for thousands of years, provide unique in... more Inuit adaptation technologies, which have been in place for thousands of years, provide unique insight into the burgeoning field of Indigenous video game studies by advancing sovereign articulations of technology in digital space. Grounded in the principles of ikiaqtaq, an adaptation of a song, Never Alone / Kisima Ingitchuna (2014), extends and nuances how Indigenous stories translate into video games by foregrounding community sustainability and cultural flexibility. Addressing Iñupiaq video game development specifically, this essay demonstrates how ikiaqtaq, as demonstrated in Never Alone, generates the conditions for sovereign storytelling in the digital.
Spurred by the need to make research and education accessible to all, the open movement has gaine... more Spurred by the need to make research and education accessible to all, the open movement has gained ground as the Internet evolved to enable easy sharing of different forms of media and scholarship. Open practices are enabling faculty, staff and students at educational institutions in British Columbia and beyond to reduce barriers to research and education by opening their classrooms, incorporating new resources and perspectives, broadly sharing their data, and contributing to public knowledge. But the adoption of open scholarship cannot be assumed to free of biases and conflicts, and the impacts of open practices can differ depending on the context of those practices. Unaddressed tensions caused by "openness" can lead scholars, students, and community members to feel alienated, exploited, or unheard. Unexamined risks can lead to unintended outcomes for any open endeavours. Within these intersections lies an opportunity for open scholarship: to directly examine and acknowle...
American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 2015
David Gaertner Land is a vital part of how the indigenous peoples of Turtle Island (an indigenous... more David Gaertner Land is a vital part of how the indigenous peoples of Turtle Island (an indigenous name for North America), develop and interpret identity and community. While land represents a fundamental part of this conception, many contemporary scholars working in indigenous studies are analyzing the development of offland, urban indigenous spaces. Building on research that moves away from homelands towards the study of new urban communities, this article illustrates how indigenous artists confront settler colonialism when creating indigenous territory in yet another urban terrain: cyberspace. While cyberspace can be a fraught, white, and neocolonial environment, artists and curators such as Kevin Lee Burton (Swampy Cree) and Skawennati Tricia Fragnito (Mohawk) are finding ways to build and maintain dynamic indigenous spaces in the digital realm, remediating intertribal events and translating guesthood protocols into digital spaces.
ESC: English Studies in Canada, 2009
"New media artist Skawennati’s Realizing the Virtual: A TimeTravellerTM Experience features ... more "New media artist Skawennati’s Realizing the Virtual: A TimeTravellerTM Experience features a nine-episode machinima series, created in Second Life. It tells the story of a 22nd century Mohawk man who uses his edutainment system, TimeTravellerTM , to embark on a technologically-enhanced vision quest, visiting historical events significant to First Nations. Dunlop’s presentation of the TimeTravellerTM series that will take place in a uniquely-designed, real-world environment that mimics the artist’s virtual world, created by Skawennati and collaborators." -- Publisher's website.
The return of the repressed is a pervasive trope in Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach and it has been ... more The return of the repressed is a pervasive trope in Eden Robinson’s Monkey Beach and it has been well theorized in the criticism surrounding the novel—from a Freudian perspective. However, in order to fully understand the aesthetics and politics of this important text more work is needed to develop the ways in which readers can engage with repression and its return from an Indigenous—and more specifically—Haisla, point of view. Via close reading and historical analysis, this essay locates the return of the repressed in relation to settler colonialism and traditional Haisla storytelling and fundamentally reframes arguments concerning psychoanalytic critique and Indigenous literature.