Kimberly Christen
Associate Professor
Ph.D., University of California at Santa Cruz
In the News
Kim Christen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Critical Culture, Gender and Race Studies and Director of Digital Projects at the Plateau Center for American Indian Studies at Washington State University. Her work explores the intersections of cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, intellectual property rights, the ethics of openness, and the use of digital technologies in and by indigenous communities globally. She has worked in Tennant Creek, Northern Territory, Australia over the last decade with Warumungu community members on a range of projects including a book, an interactive website, and a community archive. Her collaborations with the Warumungu focused on alliance-making in cross-cultural projects. Dr. Christen's book, Aboriginal Business: Alliances in a Remote Australian Town was published in 2009 by the School of Advanced Research as part of their Global Indigenous Politics Series. She is currently working on several digital humanities projects that explore ethical issues of openness and access in relation to indigenous cultural protocols and digital archives. She is the Director of the Plateau Peoples' Web Portal, a collaboratively curated site of Plateau cultural materials. She is also working with the Center for Digital Archaeology at UC Berkeley to develop Mukurtu: an indigenous content management system and digital archive built around the particular needs of indigenous peoples globally. This site contains links to Dr. Christen’s publications, presentations, courses, and projects. Explore. Engage.
Questions? Contact her at kim.christen@gmail.com
Biography
Dr. Christen received her Ph.D. from the history of consciousness department at the University of California at Santa Cruz in 2004. Her academic work focuses on contemporary global articulations of indigeneity. She has worked since 1995 with the Warumungu Aboriginal community in Tennant Creek, a remote town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Her book Aboriginal Business: Alliances in a Remote Australian Town explores the complexities of Aboriginal modernities as they relate to a range of "business" ventures—including technological collaborations. Her academic research grows from this work and focuses on the intersection of digital technologies, intellectual property rights, archival process, and cultural heritage movements within indigenous communities and the global commons. More of Dr. Christen’s work, including publications and projects, can be found at her website, and you can follow her on Twitter @Mukurtu.
Research Interests
Dr. Christen's research interests include global issues such as sovereignty, land rights, cultural tourism, intellectual property rights and digital "remix" as they mutate and mingle with indigenous communities.
Most recently she has been exploring the link between indigenous cultural heritage movements, digital technologies and intellectual property rights.
Teaching Interests
Dr. Christen enjoys teaching a range of classes focusing on globalization, indigenous rights, cultural tourism, modernity and nationalism. Her classes stress critical thinking and getting up out of one's chair on a regular basis.
Publications
Books
- Aboriginal Business: Alliances in a Remote Australian Town. School for Advanced Research Press, 2009.
Representative Articles
- Christen, K. 2011. Opening Archives: Respectful Repatriation. American Archivist 74 (1): 185–210.
- Christen, K. 2009. Access and Accountability: The Ecology of Information Sharing in the Digital Age. "Visual Ethics," special issue, Anthropology News, 50 (4): 4–5.
- Christen, K. 2008. Anthropology In/Of Circulation: The Future of Open Access and Scholarly Societies. Cultural Anthropology 23 (3): 559-588.
- Christen, K., C. Kelty, A. Golub, J. Brown, J. Jackson, and M. Fischer. 2008. http://blog.culanth.org/incirculation/
- Christen, K. 2008. Archival Challenges and Digital Solutions in Aboriginal Australia. SAA Archaeological Record, 8 (2): 21–24.
- Christen, K. 2007. Following the Nyinkka: Relations of Respect and Obligations to Act in the Work of Aboriginal Culture Centers. Museum Anthropology 30 (2): 101–124.
- Christen, K. 2006. Tracking Properness: Repackaging Culture in a Remote Australian Town. Cultural Anthropology 21 (3): 416–446.
- Christen, K. 2005. Gone Digital: Aboriginal Remix in the Cultural Comments. International Journal of Cultural Property 12:315–344.
Contact Dr. Christen
kachristen@wsu.edu
509-335-4177
Wilson-Short 115
Office Hours
By appointment
Course Materials
Past Courses