The “academic symposium” is a fundamental extension of how knowledge institutions operate in complex interaction with the university, museums, archives, public memorials and various departments of the state, constructing hierarchies of experts, legitimate topics of exploration and passive audiences to whom knowledge is disseminated and exhibited. As such, the symposium form also needs to be decolonized, refunctioned and reframed. Toward this end, we will organize a series of webinars, workshops and virtual teach-ins around the following interrelated thematic clusters during the spring of 2021, with the participation of local and international scholars, as well as activists and cultural producers, engaged in producing community labs, counter-monuments, anti-tours, alternative archives and artistic interventions. Our aim is to gauge (and build) public interest in colonial/decolonial perspectives and start building a broader network, which will help us prepare a meaningful symposium experience and continue to grow and develop subsequently.
