INSULAR ARCHIPELAGO
Big sea people from small islands
INSULAR ARCHIPELAGO
Big sea people from small islands
Insular Archipelago is a collaborative network of individuals and institutions revealing relation between the US Oceania and Caribbean territories, treating the islands not as isolated marginalia of the US nation, but as connected worlds that share ancient wisdoms while also exposing modern truths about the state of empire.
Insular Archipelago brings together artists, scholars, administrators, and partner organizations—including universities, museums, libraries, and archives.
Using Indigenous principles and practices alongside Black feminist theories and methods we create space to engage one another directly, while also strengthening relationships with neighboring non-U.S. lands and seas; foregrounding shared histories, cultural knowledge, and contemporary challenges shaped by geography and colonial legacies.
We are foregrounded in Jamaica Kincaid’s Black Feminist subjectivity concepts of A Small Place and Epeli Hau’ofa’s Decolonial and Indigenous theories of Our Sea of Islands.
Insular is Latin for island.
Over time large land societies began to use the word insular as a metaphor for what was isolated and narrow-thinking in relation to themselves. But island communities and insular spaces, have always served as dynamic hubs for maritime trade, cultural exchange and cosmopolitan thinking.
Insular is Latin for island.
Over time large land societies began to use the word insular as a metaphor for what was isolated and narrow-thinking in relation to themselves. But island communities and insular spaces, have always served as dynamic hubs for maritime trade, cultural exchange and cosmopolitan thinking.
Archipelagos are formed through underwater volcanic activity, glacial erosion, and tectonic uplift. Here at Insular Archipelago we people are the volcanoes and the glaciers. With our collective work we do the tectonic uplifting.
Archipelagos are formed through underwater volcanic activity, glacial erosion, and tectonic uplift. Here at Insular Archipelago we people are the volcanoes and the glaciers. With our collective work we do the tectonic uplifting.
Contact us
Insular Archipelago is still in our initial planning stage. If you have any suggestions for this site, or if you want to collaborate or otherwise get involved, please contact us!
