SPAH Seminar Series, Week 5: Dr Oliver O'Donnell, The Warburg Institute

The Philosophy and Art History Research Seminar meets weekly in term on Thursday afternoons to discuss a paper by a visiting philosopher, art historian, or a member of our academic staff.

 Dr Oliver O’Donnell is a historian of modern art and intellectual history with a particular focus on the diverse Anglo-American traditions of modernity.  Since 2018, he has been based at the Warburg Institute, University of London, where he is a member of the Bilderfahrzeuge Project. He completed his doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley, in 2016, and, prior to coming to London, was a postdoctoral fellow at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut.

This talk analyzes and contextualizes a drawing of a Brazilian cannibal once owned by John Locke. The drawing is positioned in relation to currents found within Locke’s own writing and in relation to the thought of the Third Earl of Shaftesbury, whose education Locke directed and whose work, along with Locke’s, had a considerable impact on Anglo-American culture.

To join us, please email Hannah Whiting for the Zoom link.