UNIVERSITY OF PADOVA (PADOVA, ITALY)

6-7th November 2020

The Journey Around the World Through Images: From the 19th Century to the Contemporary Age

To view or download the Call for Papers in PDF, click here

In 2018, titled Dans la peau de Thomas Pesquet, the first ever VR film shoot in space was released, giving the opportunity to the viewer to fully experience the journey of the French astronaut Thomas Pesquet aboard the International Space Station. We have come a long way since the theme of the journey around the world deeply influenced the late 19th century visual cultures of photography and cinema, founding its best expression in stereoscopy and in its derived aesthetics. More than a century later, the three-dimensional illusion returned in the new communication and navigation technologies, that allow virtual immersions in real or simulated places. In a world that is more interconnected than ever before, especially after the outbreak of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic and the enforcing of quarantine measures on a planetary scale, virtual travelling has become more than just a popular trend. It is again, just like in the 19th century, an outlet to pent-up wanderlust. Back then, faraway places were out of reach because of technological limits; today, people are invited to stay home and experience virtual travels because of the health measures that curtail international journeys.

The simulated journey has become an object of growing scrutiny in Academia; in light of the current situation, it deserves an even increased attention. Its impact, especially on our representations of other cultures or Humanity itself, cannot be underestimated.

The aim of this interdisciplinary workshop is to offer a historical and aesthetic frame to the contemporary panorama of the simulated journey, in the fields of photography, cinema and animation, 3D shows, augmented reality, and virtual reality. This workshop asks participants to also consider the cultural implications of the theme of the simulated journey.

  • Historical evolution of representing journeys around the world;
  • Aesthetics of visual depictions of journeys around the world;
  • Journey around the world in stereoscopy;
  • Travel photography;
  • Travel documentaries;
  • Representations of travel in visual culture, especially cinema and photography;
  • 3D shows, augmented reality and virtual reality as simulated journeys;
  • Artists and artworks that depicted around-the-world travels;
  • Photobooks about journeys around the world

Indicative Bibliography about this topic could include:
_Bayman, Louis, and Pinazza, Natália (eds) (2018), Journeys on Screen: Theory, Ethics, Aesthetics. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.
_Chaplin, Joyce E. (2012), Round About the Earth: Circumnavigation from Magellan to Orbit. New York: Simon and Schuster Paperbacks.
_Levine, Barbara, and Kirsten M. Jensen (2007), The Grand Tour in Photo Albums. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.
_Ruoff, Jeffrey (ed.) (2006), Virtual Voyages: Cinema and Travel. Durham, NC and London: Duke University Press.
_Osborne, Peter (2000), Travelling Light: Photography, Travel and Visual Culture. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

We encourage submissions characterized by interdisciplinary approaches and based on frameworks coming from all disciplines of humanities and social sciences. This workshop is
open to PhD students and academics at any stage of their career.

For further details of the workshop, please visit: http://mutualimages.org

For any further information, you can contact us at: mutualimages@gmail.com

A NOTE ON THE ONLINE FORMAT

Because of the COVID-19 emergency, the Workshop will be an exclusively online event, managed via the videoconferencing software Zoom. The University of Padova will host all the Workshop sessions through its Zoom account; each session will be open to up to 300 participants. Details about how to download the software and join the Workshop sessions will be provided in due course.

WRITING RECOMMENDATIONS

Submissions with an abstract of no more than 300 words, a short biography and up to 10 keywords should be sent to: mutualimages@gmail.com by 22 September, 2020. E-mails should be entitled: AUTUMN WORKSHOP 2020 Abstract Submission. The authors of the accepted proposals will be notified by 30th September, 2020.

Presentations will be 20-minute long, followed by 15 minutes of Q&A and discussion. The workshop language will be English.

All papers presented will be subsequently published in the Peer-Reviewed Journal Mutual Images (ISSN 2496-1868), in Autumn 2021 (http://mutualimages-journal.org).

All abstracts will be anonymously reviewed by a jury of specialists. We acknowledge receipt and answer to all paper proposals submitted. If you do not receive a reply from us in a week you should assume we did not receive your proposal. We suggest, then, to resend it.

Joint Organising Chairs:

Marco Bellano, University of Padova, Italy

Carlo Alberto Zotti Minici, University of Padova, Italy

José Andrés Santiago Iglesias, University of Vigo, Spain

Ana Soler Baena, University of Vigo, Spain

Aurore Yamagata-Montoya, Independant Researcher (MIRA), Lithuania

Danesin Maxime, Independant Researcher (MIRA), France

Design and Layout:

Tatiana Lameiro González, University of Vigo, Spain