[Discussion] International Association of Word and Image Studies

[Sule Tarakcioglu]

*International Association of Word and Image Studies: Elective Affinities *
*Location:* 	Pennsylvania
<http://www.h-net.org/announce/geography.cgi?geography=United%20States&location=Pennsylvania>, 

United States
<http://www.h-net.org/announce/geography.cgi?geography=United%20States>

	

	

	

Is a picture really worth a thousand words? What is the role of words in
a culture saturated with images? This international conference will
explore the relations between word and image from a range of
interdisciplinary perspectives. Our title has been borrowed from
Goethe's 1809 novel Elective Affinities. In the novel, the chemical term
"elective affinities" extends to human relationships, both intimate and
political. Like the alkalis and acids of which Goethe's characters
speak, words and images, though apparently opposed, may have a
remarkable affinity for one another. At the same time, as one of the
characters in the book objects, such affinities are problematic, and
"are only really interesting when they bring about separations."

How words and images represent and whether they enjoy a harmonious
kinship, engage in border skirmishes, or seek to annihilate one another,
are not merely formal matters. The history of iconoclasm tells us about
the ideological stakes of the debate. Contemporary discussions of
memorialisation seem to demand multi-media expression, and urban
inscriptions such as graffiti and mural arts express political
positions. New technologies for meshing words and images - such as
medical imaging, virtual archives, the Internet - will also be
discussed. Among the themes of the conference are: the arts of the book;
early correspondences; political inscriptions; sacred words, sacred
images; scientific imaging; spaces, places; photographic texts.

	Catriona MacLeod
University of Pennsylvania
Germanic Languages and Literatures
745 Williams Hall
Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305
Email: affinities@ccat.sas.upenn.edu <mailto:affinities@ccat.sas.upenn.edu>
Visit the website at http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/affinities/