Critical Antiquities Network

The Critical Antiquities Network (CAN) was established in 2020 to link scholars working at the intersection of ancient traditions and contemporary critical theories. The idea of ‘critical antiquities’ stems from the belief—informed by numerous protracted traditions of critical thought around the world—that critique, understood as the negation of inhibitive phenomena and the enactment of alternative lives in an emergent present, finds a powerful impetus in dialogue with the thought and practice of alternative worlds. Antiquities are examples of such alterity and—when encountered through the rigour of ongoing collective and reflexive scholarly practice—offer an alternate pole from which to grasp the present in its historical situation, both in terms of what ought to be transformed and for disclosing its immanent but alternative possibilities. That is, our modalities of critique are founded upon the expansive dialogues we enter into with the form and content of antiquities’ performances, literatures, and practices. This turn to antiquity is not a romantic one. Rather, antiquity simultaneously serves as a standpoint and object of critique to enliven us to the possibilities and limitations of contemporary life.

CAN was co-founded and is co-directed by Tristan Bradshaw (University of Wollongong) and Ben Brown (University of Sydney). We have an online forum—the Critical Antiquities Workshop (CAW)—for researchers in this area to present work in progress. CAW is held monthly during the Australian academic year (March-June, August-December). For more information, please contact us at fass.can@sydney.edu.au.