The international conference is concentrating on the sight, on the perception of pictures which is never unconditional, but rather closely connected with practices that constitute, adjust, and manipulate its perceptibility.

The conference aims at analyzing historical as well as contemporary practices that make imageviewing possible in the first place, shape it and transform it. Which preliminary decisions, media boundaries, material interventions, and forms of discursive framing shape the view of images and the implementation of perception? Can these previous actions be historically grasped, categorized, and possibly even subdivided into specific phases in the history of practices of viewing images? The conference is intended to examine these questions, taking into account various perspectives (art history, historical image studies, phenomenology, sociology, perceptual psychology or cognitive sciences).

In three sections, the conference is dedicated to the differentiation of material, media, and discursive approaches to image viewing on the basis of historical and contemporary case studies. In addition, contributions are welcome that propose new theoretical perspectives on the general question of our conference. The conference will be held in English and German.

Please send an abstract of 300 words along with a short bio to Silke Becker (silke.becker@unibielefeld.de) by 1 December, subject: Before the Sight.
We will provide accommodation and reimburse travel costs.

Find the full Call for Papers here as PDF or online via H-Soz-u-Kult.