The Oceans as Archives conference contributes to the growing field of critical ocean studies, while intervening in the erasures and occlusions performed in scripting the field as a new terrain of inquiry. This three-day interdisciplinary conference brings together scholars, poets, artists, and activists to share and discuss work that centers the ocean as a source of knowledge and a method for thinking, writing, and critical praxis. The conference provides a space for sharing ideas and theories anchored in the longstanding critical traditions of Black (diaspora) studies, Pacific Islander studies, Critical Indigenous studies, Caribbean philosophy, postcolonial theory, and decolonial and anticolonial critique. 

This year’s conference will include panel discussions and conference papers, film screenings, poetry readings, performances, visual art, and workshops.

The conference will take place from 4 - 6 July 2022 at the University of Amsterdam. We are honored to announce that Dr. Alexis Pauline Gumbs will present the keynote lecture, “Relevant is Different Points on a Circle”: Audre Lorde and the Ocean Blue. The keynote lecture will take place on July 5th and will be virtual, with a live screening gathering hosted at the conference venue.

The first Oceans As Archives symposium took place in May 2021 and was hosted virtually at the University of British Columbia on the Traditional, Ancestral, Unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Territory, 6 - 7 May 2021.

The Oceans as Archives conference series is organized by Dr. Kristie Flannery (Australian Catholic University), Dr. Renisa Mawani (University of British Columbia), and Dr. Mikki Stelder (University of Amsterdam)