Dr. Robert J. Wallis to convene session at Royal Anthropological Institute ‘Art, Materiality and Representation ’Conference 2018

Dr. Robert J. Wallis’ proposal for a session at the Royal Anthropological Institute conference in 2018 has been accepted. The ‘Art, Materiality and Representation’ conference will be held 1 to 3 June 2018 at the British Museum, Clore Centre, and School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), Senate House. Wallis’ session, entitled ‘Relating to Raptors: The Art of Human Engagements with Birds of Prey’, will explore representations of the dynamic between ourselves and birds of prey, evidenced diversely in the anthropology of art, the art history and archaeology of the earliest falconry, and visual representations of raptors in museums, heritage and tourism. The call for papers was announced on 29 August and will be open until 8 January. Wallis’ research on the art and archaeology of falconry has been published in the journals ‘Antiquity’, ‘The Archaeological Journal of the Royal Archaeological Institute’ and ‘The Falconer’. He is currently preparing a monograph entitled ‘The Art and Archaeology of Falconry: The Earliest Evidence for the Oldest Field Sport’. He is Professor of Visual Culture at Richmond University and a fellow of both the Royal Anthropological Institute and the Society of Antiquaries of London.