When Phillips came to Carleton in 1980, Professor George Swinton was the only person in the country teaching Inuit art.
Art History continues to take new initiatives in that tradition.
Particularly the Aboriginal students that I have taught in recent years. They have been very challenging and rewarding in class because they see art history from a slightly different perspective. For Elaine Keillor, of Music, studying Aboriginal music is a way to build bridges between cultures. In the 1970s, Keillor saw a lack of people studying music stemming from oral, and non western traditions of musical notation. This area of music fascinated her, and her work in the field led to the establishment of courses in ethnomusicology.