Research in Progress talk: Popular Culture, Claims, and Confusion in “America’s Yukon”

Join Drew Lyness to explore the contradictory history of the Yukon as portrayed in U.S. popular culture, and the ways in which this heavy investment in the Outside identity of the territory frames debates on the inside. This research looks at the visual-political dynamics of the Yukon as reflected in tensions between parks, "wilderness", Canadian national heritage, the rights of Yukon First Nations, and mineral extraction. 

Paying close attention to current debates surrounding mining legislation and land politics in the territory, this talk examines ways in which collisions between colonial visual control and Indigenous self-determination are actively creating conditions ripe for forms of artistic disruption. As Yukon society evolves and grapples with new geopolitical realties, research in the humanities helps to interrogate ways in which a commodification of place shapes life for all Yukoners. 

Drew Lyness is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Science & Humanities at YukonU.

All talks are open and free to the public, students, staff and faculty. 

Cookies, tea and coffee will be served.

Co-hosted by YukonU and the Yukon Science Institute.

Questions? Contact The Research Services Office at rso@yukonu.ca.

Read more in YukonU Research Stories: The Yukon’s identity, who decides?