Category Archives: Uncategorized

Yesterday at Politics and Prose Bookstore I was delighted to be invited into dialogue with my former colleague Joshua Hotaka Roth (Mount Holyoke College) about his marvelous new graphic memoir, Life Lines: Art, Memory, Relationship (University of Toronto Press, 2026). When teaching several years ago at Mount Holyoke I had the opportunity to encounter thisContinue reading “Towers of Babel: Reflections on Joshua Hotaka Roth’s graphic memoir “Life Lines””

Here are some notes on the lives and Civil War service of the brothers John Armstead Harris (1839-1893) Company G, USCT 1stJoseph H Harris (1844-1931), Company G, USCT 1st Parents: Mary Ann Harris (1820-1913) and Thomas Harris (1815-1891), who settled in Dry Meadows off Broad Branch Road in Washington County, District of Columbia, in theContinue reading “The Civil War Service of the Harris Brothers of Dry Meadows Farm (Chevy Chase, DC)”

As recently reported, the Trump administration has been eager to locate temporarily the statue to Caesar Rodney, a Delaware signer of the Declaration of Independence, to Freedom Plaza near the White House in Washington DC. Rodney was a prominent slaveowner, and his statue consequently was removed in June 2020 from Rodney Square in Wilmington Delaware,Continue reading “In Search of Enslaved People from the Caesar Rodney Estate”

My students and I in ANTH215 (Gender, Sexuality, Culture) at American University are developing close looking guides to works on display in the exhibition, “Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art.” at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art. Here is a draft giude to Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi’s roZen (Rituals of Becoming) Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsib.Continue reading “Considering Va-Bene Elikem Fiatsi’s “froZen (Rituals of Becoming)” photographic sequence”

I have been fascinated by the sculptural installation “Subject to the Tide” (After David Hamons) (2018-2025) by artist Oluseye Ogunlesi (sometimes known as Oluseye), now accessioned into the National Gallery of Canada’s permanent collection. Subject to the tide (After David Hammons), 2018-2025 Twill flag, salvaged fence from Africville 11 x 6 x 1 ft Artist’sContinue reading “Within These Gates: Reflections on Oluseye’s “Subject to the Tide””

My students and I in ANTH215 (Gender, Sexuality, Culture) at American University are developing close looking guides to works on display in the exhibition, “Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art.” at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art. Here is a guide to Rotimi Fani-Kayode’s Every Moment Counts (Ecstatic Antibodies), 1989.Chromogenic print 
 Description:Continue reading “Close Looking guide to Rotimi Fani-Kayode’s “Every Moment Counts” (Ecstatic Antibodies)”

My students and I in ANTH215 (Gender, Sexuality, Culture) at American University are developing close looking guides to works on display in the exhibition, “Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art.” at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art. Here is a guide to Rotimi Fani-Kayode. Nothing to Lose  IX  from the Bodies of ExperienceContinue reading “Close Looking guide to Rotimi Fani-Kayode’s “Nothing to Lose  IX” “

My students and I in ANTH215 (Gender, Sexuality, Culture) at American University are developing close looking guides to works on display in the exhibition, “Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art.” at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art. Here is a guide to two linked videos by the Kenyan multimedia artist Jim Chuchu, Invocation:Continue reading “Close Looking Guide to Jim Chuchu, Invocation: The Severance of Ties, 2015, and Invocation: Release, 2015”

Friday, March 27, 2026. 12:00 noon-3:00 pm Eastern USAWebinar https://american.zoom.us/j/96865201403 Meeting ID: 968 6520 1403 Conveners: Mark Auslander (American University)and Abdi Osman (University at Buffalo, SUNY) “There is no problem in this world that cannot be solved.”― Flora Nwapa, Efuru (1966) “I should constantly remind myself that the real leap consists inintroducing invention into existence.”—FrantzContinue reading “Inventive Leaps, Unruly Voyages: A Roundtable on “Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art””

Notes by Mark Auslander My students and I in ANTH215 (Gender, Sexuality, Culture) at American University are developing close looking guides to works on display in the exhibition, “Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art.” at the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art. Here are my initial notes on Tarek Lakhrissi’s stunning and enigmatic videoContinue reading “Close Looking Guide for Tarek Lakhrissi’s “Out of the Blue” (video, 2019)”