Institute Speaker Series: Dr. Paul Edward Montgomery Ramírez

The Institute for Human Science and Culture Speaker Series features Indigenous experts and scholars discussing the harmful historical collecting practices that brought ancestral belongings into museums and private collections; efforts to reconnect collection items to their communities of origin; and the reparative work of reclaiming communities’ cultural objects.

Registration is required for this free online event. All registrants will receive a link to the livestream via email prior to the event.

About the Event:

"Unsettling Museums & Re-Storying Indigeneities"

The Museum is founded in the forces of colonization, imperialism, and modernity. More recent movements within the museums sector have helped to position these institutions as forums of discourse. And for many, museums still represent forces and systems of oppression. This seminar by Dr Montgomery Ramírez will focus on ways of working heritage beyond the Museum, towards institutions of diverse learning, fostering dialogues, and being in better community.

About the Speaker

Dr. Paul Edward Montgomery Ramírez is a Monimboseño person from what is currently Nicaragua, raised in diaspora in the United States. He is a decolonial heritage specialist and Indigenous public archaeologist, with a PhD in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage from the University of York. His research focuses on re-storying narratives of the past and using cultural heritage for decolonial options for sustainable and equitable futures for Indigenous and marginalized communities. In 2017, he received the Orgullo de Mi Pais Award from the Nicaraguan Embassy in London for his outreach work on Indigenous rights and heritages. Dr. Montgomery Ramírez is a public speaker and activist for education, environmental, cultural, and human rights.

About the Institute

Located on the 3rd and 4th Floors of the Cummings Center, The Institute for Human Science and Culture (IHSC) is a hands-on humanities center on the corner of campus and community.

The mission of the IHSC is to promote the exploration and appreciation of the widespread human experience, both local and global, through the activation of museum collections. The IHSC enriches The University of Akron student experience with arts and culture activities, speakers, exhibitions, and programs, facilitating engagement and connections among UA departments to discover new and creative ways to nurture learning. We connect UA and Akron communities to learn from each other through arts and culture, expertise and experience, and hands-on teaching and learning.