Transpersonal: Elizabeth A. Povinelli

Elizabeth A. Povinelli is Franz Boas Professor of Anthropology and Gender Studies at Columbia University where she has also been the Director of the Institute for Research on Women and Gender and the Co-Director of the Centre for the Study of Law and Culture. She is the author of numerous books and essays as well as a former editor of the academic journal Public Culture.

Her writing has focused on developing a critical theory of late liberalism that would support an “anthropology of the otherwise”. This potential theory has unfolded primarily from within a sustained relationship with Indigenous colleagues in north Australia and across five books, numerous essays, and three films with the Karrabing Film Collective including Wutharr, The Saltwater, 2016 which premiered at Sydney Biennale and was winner of the 2015 European Visible Award.

This lecture is the fourth in a series entitled Transpersonal: art and life directives, ten lectures which will engage with the production of psychotechnologies, socio-political awareness and art and design practices in an automated reality. Each lecture will explore the ways in which the term transpersonal relays states of consciousness that go beyond the limits of personal identity.

Transpersonal: art and life directives is a lecture series on the theory and application of art and design, curated and convened by Dr. Stephen Wilson. It is staged in collaboration with the ICA and the Chelsea, Camberwell and Wimbledon College of Arts postgraduate community at the University of the Arts London.