Speaker Series Intersectionality from the Americas | Kaimé Guerrero (Duisburg-Essen) | Embodied intersectionality and the politics of listening: Indigenous trans* and queer* interventions

This talk forms part of the speaker series Intersectionality from the Americas: Theories, Processes, Approaches, Practices, taking place throughout the winter semester 2024/25. Supported by the ScienceCampus and organised by Anne Brüske with Minerva Peinador, Barbara Aranda and Joanna Moszczyńska of DIMAS, this series will feature talks, a workshop and an artistic performance. Find the flyer about the speaker series here. More details about the series can be found here.

The talk on 5 December will be held in English. Abstracts in English, German and Spanish are included below.

Join via Zoom here.

Bio: Kaimé Guerrero Valencia were born in Quito and has been living in Berlin for nine years. They studied Sociology and Political Science at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, followed by a Master's degree in Interdisciplinary Latin American Studies with a Gender Profile at the Free University of Berlin. They are currently completing their PhD in the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB 1512) Intervening Arts (SFB 1512) and in the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Duisburg-Essen. Their research interests include the intersections between aesthetic-political and scientific processes in the production of alternative forms of word-making.

Abstract in English – the language of the presentation: In this lecture, I would like to address the material-discursive practices of listening and storytelling produced in the artistic manifestations of the Brazilian indigenous, trans*, non-binary, visual artist and biologist Ùyra Sodoma. It is about the politics of resistance, regeneration, response-ability and alliance building. According to the artist, the stories of animals, plants and other entities such as rivers, water and soil can be told by learning to listen. As Úyra Sodoma's artistic interventions incorporate an embodied intersectional and dissident gaze, I aim to establish an interdisciplinary dialogue between the knowledge that emerges from this practice and indigenous philosophical approaches. This raises the question of how an embodied intersectionality can enrich Indigenous politics of listening and storytelling.

Abstract in German: In meinem Vortrag möchte ich auf die materiell-diskursiven Praktiken des Zuhörens und Erzählens eingehen, die in den künstlerischen Ausdrucksformen der brasilianischen indigenen, trans*, nicht-binären, visuellen Künstlerin und Biologin Ùyra Sodoma entstehen. Es geht hier um die Politik des Widerstands, der Regeneration, der „Ver-Antwortung“, diese verstanden als die Fähigkeit zu antworten, sowie der Herstellung von Alliancen. Laut der Künstlerin können die Geschichten von Tieren, Pflanzen und anderen Entitäten wie Flüssen, Wasser und Boden erzählt werden, indem man das Zuhören erlernt. Da Ùyra Sodomas künstlerische Interventionen eine verkörperte intersektionale und nicht konforme Perspektive einnehmen, möchte ich einen interdisziplinären Dialog zwischen dem Wissen, das aus dieser Praxis entsteht, und indigenen philosophischen Ansätzen herstellen. Dabei stellt sich die Frage, wie eine verkörperte Intersektionalität die indigene Politik des Zuhörens und Erzählens bereichern kann.

Abstract in Spanish: En esta conferencia me gustaría abordar las prácticas material-discursivas de escucha y narración producidas en las manifestaciones artísticas de Ùyra Sodoma, artista visual y bióloga indígena brasileña, persona trans* no binaria. Alude a un amplio abanico temático en torno a las políticas de resistencia, la regeneración, la respons-(h)abilidad, entendida como capacidad de respuesta, y la construcción de alianzas. Según la artista, las historias de animales, plantas y otras entidades, tales como los ríos, el agua y el suelo, pueden ser contados aprendiendo a escuchar. Como las intervenciones artísticas de Úyra Sodoma incorporan una mirada interseccional y disidente incorporada, mi objetivo es establecer un diálogo interdisciplinario entre el conocimiento que emerge de sus prácticas y los enfoques filosóficos indígenas. Esto plantea la pregunta de cómo una interseccionalidad encarnada puede enriquecer las políticas indígenas de escucha y narración.