Jonathan Cane

Jonathan Cane is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History of Art at the University of Warwick, Faculty of Arts. His research centers on modern and contemporary art and architecture from the Global South, with a focus on decolonial and ecological approaches. He works extensively on African art, urbanism, natural history collections, and climate politics, with fieldwork in South Africa and Brazil.

His research interests include:

• Modern and Contemporary Art
• Decolonial Theory
• Ecological Art History
• Urban History of Sub-Saharan Africa and Brazil
• Natural History Collections and Herbaria
• Queer Theory and Critical STS
• Archival Repatriation and Digital Politics

His recent publications explore themes such as virtual cities, apartheid engineering, tropical modernism, and the poetics of deforestation. The articles reflect a strong interdisciplinary trend combining art history, environmental humanities, urban studies, and postcolonial critique, often focusing on material culture, spatial politics, and epistemic justice in African and Amazonian contexts.

He has co-edited significant volumes such as Creative Cities in Africa (2024) and authored the monograph Civilising Grass (2019). While no specific scientific awards are listed, his editorial and publication record indicates scholarly recognition. Cane is involved in collaborative digital archiving projects like the People’s Parks Archive and conducts fieldwork on forest struggles in the Brazilian Amazon. He teaches undergraduate modules including 'Introduction to Art History: The Natural World and the Arts of Modernity' and 'History of Art and Interpretation'.