What I Am Thinking About Now: Professor Adrienne Keene (CSREA and Anthropology Postdoctoral Fellow) 

In the summer of 2013 when Disney's The Lone Ranger was released, new articles, blog posts, and other online commentary buzzed with questions of "authenticity"--How authentic were Tonto's costume and the portrayals of Comanche culture? How authentic were Johnny Depp's claims of Native heritage? Should authenticity even matter in a Disney film? Do "real" Indians care about these issues? Dr. Keene is interested in exploring these narratives of authenticity in Native representations that emerged during this period, and tying them to broader ideas about contemporary Native identity, belonging, and media invisibility.     

What I Am Thinking About Now is an on-going informal workshop/seminar series to which faculty and graduate students are invited to present and discuss recently published work and work in progress.