Dr. Robert J. Wallis presents research at International Forum in China

Dr. Robert J. Wallis delivered a paper at the International Forum on Shamanism and Arctic Anthropology, in China. The event brought a group of international and Chinese scholars together to discuss ‘Re-thinking Shamanism Theory’. The event, 25-29 May, was a collaboration between the new Arctic Studies Center of Liaocheng University, the Multicultural Studies Center of Minzu University of China, Beijing, and the School of Philosophy and Religion, Beijing Normal University. Dr. Wallis presented a paper on his ongoing work examining the interface between art and shamanism, focussing on Upper Palaeolithic cave art as an example. A special issue of the journal ‘Religions’, ‘Explorations in the Practice and Theory of Shamanism: A Collaborative Project Between China and the West’, arising from the conference, is due to be published in 2019. Dr. Wallis is Professor of Visual Culture and Director of the Research Centre for International Visual Arts and Cultures, at Richmond.