The Social Life of Justice in Colonial Systems of Violence

Sabine Mannitz Organizes Panel at Conference of the Australian Anthropological Society

Information panel at the South Australian Museum. The topic is Truth, Reconciliation, and Healing. This is in the context of a memorial park.

Information panel about Wangayarta Memorial Park at the South Australian Museum. Photo: Sabine Mannitz

Sabine Mannitz contri­buted to this year’s conference of the Australian Anthro­pological Society, held June 10–12 2026 in Mparntwe/­Alice Springs, by conve­ning the panel “The Social Life of Justice in Colo­nial Systems of Violence.” As part of the panel, she pre­sented a paper entitled “After­lives of Truth and Recon­ciliation Commis­sions in (Post)Colonial Settings,” focusing on the example of Canada. Further contri­butions addressed the problem of non-­reparations for the slave trade, colonial legal inheri­tance and verna­cular cultures of mourning for missing persons in Kashmir and Punjab, India.

Mannitz combined her stay in Austra­lia with further research and back­ground discussions in Adelaide, South Australia, on how museums and public educational insti­tutions address colonial violence against Indigenous peoples.

The Australian Anthropological Society (AAS) Annual Conferencebrings together anthro­pologists from around the world each year. This year’s theme, “Lines, Planes, Depth,” pays homage to Mparntwe/­Alice Springs in the heart of the Austra­lian outback, where the con­ference was held for the first time this year.