Cosmic Beavers

Abstract

In this article, the authors introduce the concept of a “queer counter-mythology.” They do so by discussing a speculative song they wrote as an enactment of research-creation. Research-creation names an interdisciplinary scholarly praxis where artist-scholars create the artefacts they want to think-with, rather than analysing existing cultural productions. The song discussed in this article, “Cosmic Beavers,” proposes a queer counter-mythology that reimagines the historical, colonial archive by foregrounding the stories of giant, trans-dimensional beavers who shred Lewis and Clark and use them to reinforce their Time-Dam. Drawing on this song, as well as queer theories of time and anti-colonial thinkers, the authors suggest that artistic interventions invoke speculative lures that, while not changing history, can complicate state-sanctioned archives and narratives of the past and future: they frame this intervention as a queer counter-mythology.

Keywords:

• research-creation
• queer theory
• arts-based research
• counter-mythology
• beavers
• temporality

The authors would like to thank the anonymous peer reviewers for the generous and generative feedback. Sarah E. Truman would like to acknowledge the Australian Research Council Grant DE220100110 for support in researching this article.

disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

The authors would like to thank the anonymous peer reviewers for the generous and generative feedback. Sarah E. Truman would like to acknowledge the Australian Research Council Grant DE220100110 for support in researching this article.