Dumpster Diving and the Ideal in the Settler-Colonial Imaginary: Heritage Images and their Potential Futures

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dc.contributor.advisorHogan, Mél
dc.contributor.authorThomas, Andrew Kacey
dc.contributor.committeememberWiens, Jason
dc.contributor.committeememberPierson, Ryan
dc.date2021-11
dc.date.accessioned2021-09-14T20:25:03Z
dc.date.available2021-09-14T20:25:03Z
dc.date.issued2021-09-09
dc.description.abstractAccess and contextualization were problems when archives could only be accessed by scholars, or open to the public in a physical location, but they are now compounded by the affordances of digital access in a unique way. While making archival legacy images available online seems to enable greater understanding of our settler-colonial history, it also allows for popular perceptions and settler-preferences to shape our interaction with these photographs in image searches. This thesis explores the concept of the settler-colonial imaginary, or a perception of the future and narratives of society, in order to understand the way internet search algorithms reproduce and shape settler perceptions of Indigenous futurity through photographs. This is done by conducting three case study analyses of representative moments captured in settler-media photography and examining the continuing effect the framing of these symbols has on settler perceptions of history. By contextualizing the use of symbols of Indigenous difference in the perpetuation of the settler-imaginary, this thesis argues that the default organization of images created by search algorithms reifies racist perceptions of indigeneity which has continuing effects on the production of settler potential futures. In conclusion, I offer reparative interventions in the form of utopian projections to suggest actions that could be done to address this issue at this time.en_US
dc.identifier.citationThomas, A. K. (2021). Dumpster Diving and the Ideal in the Settler-Colonial Imaginary: Heritage Images and their Potential Futures (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/39196
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/113870
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisher.facultyArtsen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.en_US
dc.subjectInternet studiesen_US
dc.subjectAlgorithmic studiesen_US
dc.subjectSettler-colonialismen_US
dc.subjectphotographyen_US
dc.subjectwalkthroughen_US
dc.subjectsociotechnical imaginariesen_US
dc.subjectimagined futuresen_US
dc.subject.classificationMass Communicationsen_US
dc.titleDumpster Diving and the Ideal in the Settler-Colonial Imaginary: Heritage Images and their Potential Futuresen_US
dc.typemaster thesisen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineCommunication and Media Studiesen_US
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgaryen_US
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Arts (MA)en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrueen_US
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