*CFP* CALL FOR PARTICIPATION, I INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE VISUAL MOTIFS OF POWER AND THE PUBLIC SPHERE

I International Conference Visual Motifs of Power and the Public Sphere

Universidad Pompeu Fabra

20 & 21 September, 2021

 

 

There is a significant tradition of studies on political iconography inspired by the central figure of Aby Warburg, which is continued on through Erwin Panofsky, Horst Bredekamp, Monica Centanni, Georges Didi-Huberman, and Patrick Boucheron, as well as the aforementioned Carlo Ginzburg. His emphasis on the central role played by visual motifs in the construction of public space converges with the investigations carried out by a large number of theorists from other fields, such as theory and art criticism (Boris Groys, Hito Steyerl, Harun Farocki), political philosophy (Giorgio Agamben), film studies (Nicole Brenez, Alain Bergala, Emmanuelle André), photography theory (Ariella Azoulay), social semiotics (Theo van Leeuwen), cognitive iconology (Ian Verstegen) and production studies (Banks, Caldwell, Du Guy, Thompson, and Burns), all of which pay attention to the levels of awareness and control over the images produced, whether in film and photojournalism, in the praxis of TV documentaries and reports or in online productions.

Together with the action of the transmission of visual motifs, we are interested in their contemporary reinventions in the hands of social network prosumers.

Among the possible topics, the following are proposed:

• Visual motifs in the representation of the different spheres of the public arena: political, economic, judicial, police, civil organizations and forms of citizen participation.
• Motifs and visual narratives of political campaigns based on the reinvention of previous iconographic sources.
• The study of the representation of power and the public sphere in cinema.
• The iconographic evocation in photojournalistic practices; the civil contract of photography.
• GIFs, memes, and mashups, both in political processes and in the public sphere.
• Case studies and production studies in photojournalism, television, online media, and social networks concerning images of power.
• Theoretical studies on the continuity and transformations of political iconography.

Submission Deadline: 10/08/2021

Notification of acceptance: 15/08/2021

300-word abstract + 150-word bio should be sent through  this webpage.