JS-45
Imagining Futures through the Visual
Imagining Futures through the Visual
Tuesday, 12 July 2016: 14:15-15:45
Location: Hörsaal 18 (Juridicum)
WG03 Visual Sociology (host committee) RC07 Futures Research
Language: English
This session invites papers on research and case studies that consider how futures are being presented, mediated, performed, designed, narrated or imagined through a range of visual practices. Emphasizing the importance of visibility and communication, the session will consider:
- How sociology and visual studies combined can be used to conceptualize current relations between vision and visuality.
- The representation of varying social spheres, communities, environments, social movements, state and non-state actors on and offline.
As such, this session welcomes research that investigates what Schulz (2015) refers to as “future moves” within the discipline, as well as future visions in addition to research dealing with the assembly of visual material that point to an understanding or re-reading of our potential futures. Examples may include:
- The analysis of ecological or activist photographs that delineate a future disaster as a possible outcome of the present (Harimen, 2014).
- The accumulation and analysis of contemporary activist material found on multiple platforms, that when brought together, create a “visual coherence” evoking a trail, and thus an idea of an injustice, which is yet to be recognized (Azoulay, 2011).
Papers are also welcomed on a range of topics that address motives and practices for future change or future action, supported by visual content. These can include (but are not limited to):
- The networked circulation of individual and group self-portraits with banners and signs that promote call for changes in policy, political visibility and/or social equality.
- What methodological tools are best applied when examining futures through a socio-visual lens.
Session Organizer:
Chair:
Discussant: