[Commlist] CFP: Useful Film in (Neuro) Psychiatry Europe, 1900–1950 Workshop

  *Call for Papers*

Workshop

University of Lausanne 3-4 March 2022

***Abstract submission deadline:**October 30, 2021***

**

*Useful Film in (Neuro) Psychiatry Europe, 1900–1950*

*Update on Current Research*

This workshop is organized in the framework of the SNSF project

/Cinéma et (neuro)psychiatrie en Suisse: autour de la collection Waldau, 
1920-1990/

<https://waldau.hypotheses.org/>https://waldau.hypotheses.org 
<https://waldau.hypotheses.org/1008>

Since its inception, the cinematograph had many applications in the 
medical field, and particularly in the fields of psychiatry, neurology 
and neuropsychiatry. With surgeons, neurologists and psychiatrists are 
at the forefront of using film as a tool for analyzing, storing, 
archiving, and transmitting knowledge. For a long time, the (neuro) 
psychiatric films made by doctors as part of their teaching and research 
have been overshadowed by educational and health films. But since 2000, 
and especially 2010, scholars from different disciplines are 
increasingly interested in these practices. Several interdisciplinary 
teams have conducted research, with the aim of rehabilitating film as a 
privileged source for both the history of medicine and the history of 
cinema.

Scholars face several challenges in front of films made by mental health 
professionals. How to locate objects that are poorly (or not at all) 
identified? How to understand them in the absence of sufficient 
information about their production and distribution context? How to work 
on films that are in poor condition? How to solve problems of access to 
sensitive data? How to establish productive transdisciplinary 
collaborations? Indeed, there is still much to be done to build on these 
documents defying traditional classifications (e.g. the distinction 
between documentary and fiction) and even escape knowledge altogether, 
as they “sleep” at the bottom of a closet, in a hospital, a bunker or 
the cellar of private owners.

Focusing on the study of films shown in medical institutions, in lecture 
halls and at scientific conferences, this workshop has several goals: to 
map the state of research on works devoted to useful films in the field 
of neurology, psychiatry and neuropsychiatry, in Europe between 1900 and 
1950; to highlight investigations on poorly known or unknown film 
collections; to serve as a starting point for one to two publications 
(journal issues). The main purpose is thus to increase our knowledge on 
practices that have long been considered “marginal” both in the medical 
humanities and in the history of cinema (and the media).

We seek papers that may provide some answers to one or other of these 
questions:

  * In which context (historical, institutional, scientific, etc.) do
    doctors appropriated the filmic medium?
  * What are their needs and expectations regarding film?
  * What are their explicit and implicit goals?
  * What conception(s) of cinema underlie(s) the use of the moving image?
  * What formal elements of the technology are considered productive or
    counterproductive?
  * Which criteria lead doctors to emphasize certain technical
    properties of the medium to the expense of others?
  * Which issues are raised by the films in the medical community?
  * How are the films distributed and watched?

Contributions can include but are not limited to the following topics:

  * Study of specific film collections, or other related media as film
    operates in conjunction with other visual media
  * Methodological issues raised by the examination of such sources,
    including issues related to their preservation and storage
  * Theoretical questions, as long as they are supported by a case study
  * Investigation of institutional or personal synergies on a European
    scale (Switzerland, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Great
    Britain, etc.), given the intense circulation of medical expertise
    during the twentieth century

This workshop is related to a *SFNS project*that aims to study several 
film collections made in and around the Waldau between 1920 and 1990 
<https://waldau.hypotheses.org/>.

  * Organization committee: Mireille Berton, Elodie Murtas, Raphaël 
Tinguely
  * Scientific committee: Mireille Berton, Christian Bonah, Peter
    Koehler, Lorenzo Lorusso, Simone Venturini


    Proposals submission

  * Abstract submission deadline: *October 30, 2021*
  * Ideally, each abstract should articulate: 1) an issue or research
    question to be discussed, 2) a source-based case study 3) a
    methodological or critical framework used, and 4) expected findings
    or conclusions
  * Decisions will be communicated to the authors by November 30, 2021
  * Title and abstract (400 words max.), and a short bio (200 words
    max.) should be submitted in Word format to (Mireille.Berton /at/ unil.ch)
    <mailto:(Mireille.Berton /at/ unil.ch)>


    Practical info

  * Language: English
  * Location: University of Lausanne <https://www.unil.ch/index.html>,
    Dorigny campus, Switzerland
  * Expenses covered: one night's accommodation, meals, travel within 
Europe
  * No payment from the participants will be required
  * Contact: (Mireille.Berton /at/ unil.ch) <mailto:(Mireille.Berton /at/ unil.ch)>or
    (Raphael.Tinguely /at/ unil.ch) <mailto:(Raphael.Tinguely /at/ unil.ch)>
  * More informations: https://waldau.hypotheses.org/1008
    <https://waldau.hypotheses.org/1008>


    Timeline

  * October 30, 2021: application deadline
  * November 30, 2021: notification of acceptance
  * February 1, 2022: submission of a long abstract (500-600 words)
  * March 3-4, 2022: workshop
  * September 1, 2022: submission of the articles for publication


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