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Instructors: Prof. Dr. phil. Gerrit Schenk
Event type:
Seminar
Org-unit: Dept. 02 - Institute of History
Displayed in timetable as:
Seminar MG 1
Subject:
Crediting for:
Hours per week:
2
Language of instruction:
Englisch
Min. | Max. participants:
- | 16
Course Contents:
The seminar is planned as a preparatory exercise for an exhibition on imaging disasters planned for 2014 at the renowned Reiss Engelhorn-Museum in Mannheim. The seminar will investigate ways of visually representing the experience of natural disasters across Europe and Asia ranging from pre-modern myths of deluge to present day media portrayals of catastrophic happenings. To begin with, this would involve studying the genesis of different genres of images, the intentions of their patrons, their proliferation and the often multi-layered readings engendered through their circulation in different contexts or their translation from one medium into another. Further we will address the question as to the range of functions images serve in seeking to visualize experiences which defy description – functions such as moralising, sublimating fear through aestheticizing, gratifying voyeurism and deployment for political and religious purposes. It remains however an open question whether such culturally shared aspects rest on „anthropological constants“. In other words, the dynamics of both globally common features as well as culturally constituted differences that shape explanatory models and visual representations of natural disasters call for historical explanations. What kinds of processes of transfer, appropriation, reformulation, and translation on the one hand, refusal and rejection on the other, have images across Europe and Asia, ranging from the mythical floods of Gilgamesh to the globally familiar scenarios of climatic disaster undergone, in what ways do they continue to evolve as part of transcultural entanglements? Does the transcultural approach need to be combined with a comparative perspective? The regional focus of the selected case studies to be discussed here will be Western Europe, the Mediterranean, South and East Asia.
Preconditions:
The seminar is designed for Masters and advanced Bachelor students.
Expected Number of Participants:
The number of participants from TU Darmstadt is limited to 16.
Further Grading Information:
The seminar is held by Prof. G. J. Schenk and Prof. Dr. Monica Juneja and Dr. Anna Andreeva (both University of Heidelberg).
The introductory meeting is going to take place on April 28, 2012 in Heidelberg.
The block sessions are held on June 9, 2012 (TU Darmstadt) and on June 23, 2012 at KJC Heidelberg, room 212).
Official Course Description:
The seminar is planned as a preparatory exercise for an exhibition on imaging disasters planned for 2014 at the renowned Reiss Engelhorn-Museum in Mannheim. The seminar will investigate ways of visually representing the experience of natural disasters across Europe and Asia ranging from pre-modern myths of deluge to present day media portrayals of catastrophic happenings. To begin with, this would involve studying the genesis of different genres of images, the intentions of their patrons, their proliferation and the often multi-layered readings engendered through their circulation in different contexts or their translation from one medium into another. Further we will address the question as to the range of functions images serve in seeking to visualize experiences which defy description – functions such as moralising, sublimating fear through aestheticizing, gratifying voyeurism and deployment for political and religious purposes. It remains however an open question whether such culturally shared aspects rest on „anthropological constants“. In other words, the dynamics of both globally common features as well as culturally constituted differences that shape explanatory models and visual representations of natural disasters call for historical explanations. What kinds of processes of transfer, appropriation, reformulation, and translation on the one hand, refusal and rejection on the other, have images across Europe and Asia, ranging from the mythical floods of Gilgamesh to the globally familiar scenarios of climatic disaster undergone, in what ways do they continue to evolve as part of transcultural entanglements? Does the transcultural approach need to be combined with a comparative perspective? The regional focus of the selected case studies to be discussed here will be Western Europe, the Mediterranean, South and East Asia.
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