[Commlist] CfP for the Panel: Identity in the Visual at the 8th Euroacademia International Conference ‘Identities and Identifications: Politicized Uses of Collective Identities

Call for Papers for the Panel:
Identity in the Visual

The panel is part of the 8th Euroacademia International Conference 
‘Identities and Identifications: Politicized Uses of Collective  Identities’
28 – 29 June 2019, Dublin, Ireland

Deadline: 24th of May 2019

Panel Organizer: Daniela Chalániová (Anglo-American University, Prague)

Panel Description:
Ever since the so called ‘linguistic turn’ in the 1970s, majority of 
research on identity in political and social sciences has been focused 
on language and text - as language has been considered the primary  tool 
for meaning formation, and ideas exchange. Today, we are twenty  years 
from a digital revolution of the 1990s, which on the one hand,  made 
communication faster, more efficient and more global, on the  other hand 
made the linguistic exchange just one of many  possibilities. While 
arguably some visual elements such as symbols and  flags have been 
recognized as important for collective identification,  the impact of 
journalist, fashion and travel photography, films, comic  books and 
documentaries, billboards and brands, sports and arts has  largely been 
neglected by mainstream political science scholars, who  viewed images 
as something rather suspicious. However, with increasing  interest in 
the visual/aesthetic aspects of political and social life  (the so 
called ‘visual/aesthetic turn’ of the late 1990s) it is only  logical to 
take a hard look at identity beyond language, that is, from  an 
interdisciplinary visual perspective.

Images, just like words, are able to communicate norms, meanings and 
values, they polarize as well as unite communities, identify who is ‘in’ 
and who is ‘out’. Images communicate meanings through logic of 
association, rather than logic of argumentation as texts often do, 
appealing to our emotional rather than logical cognition. Images trigger 
the unconscious processes of stereotyping and value judgments associated 
with them, effectively constructing affiliation or differentiation, a 
Self and the Other, with behavioural consequences. Therefore, analysis 
of visual material in connection to identity  should occupy a more 
prominent place among identity scholars.  Political and social science, 
however, lacks in tools of visual  analysis, therefore it needs to 
broaden its scope into other  disciplines such as communication studies, 
artsand history, cultural  studies, media studies, theatre, iconography, 
semiotics, marketing and  advertising, public relations, fashion, 
photography, cinematography,  etc.

Thus, this panel aims at a more inclusive interdisciplinary approach  to 
identity building, especially in terms of the empirical scope. The  goal 
is to collect empirical as well as theoretical and methodological papers 
on political and social identity, focused on visual aspects of identity 
construction.

Suggested topics may include/but are not limited to these:
~ Role of images in multilingual collectivities’ identity construction
~ Role of images in multicultural/multinational collectivities’ identity 
construction
~ Role of sports as visual performance in identity narratives
~ Emotional appeal of images, symbols and representations
~ American presidential election and the public ‘image’ of the candidates
~ Presidential election and the public ‘image’ of the candidates
~ Constructing the democrats/the republicans in the media
~ Political branding and electoral campaigns
~ Media campaigns of the European Parliament
~ Statues and monuments of national identity
~ Treatment of minorities in films – visualizing the Other
~ National cinema and national identity
~ Images of patriotism
~ Fashion statement as a declaration of belonging
~ Folk costumes and clothing in contemporary national identity narratives
~ Visualizing the gender

While the papers suggested here approach identity from a 
social-constructivist perspective, other approaches and criticisms are 
welcome.

If interested in participating, please read the complete event details 
on the conference website and apply on-line. Alternatively you can  send 
a maximum 300 words abstract together with the details of your 
affiliation until 24th of May 2019 by e-mail at (application /at/ euroacademia.org)

For full details of the conference and on-line application please see:
http://euroacademia.eu/conference/8th-identities-and-identifications/

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