Call for papers: "Materiality and Mediation: Global Conversations"

Conference & Events

28 April 2022

Materiality and Mediation: Global Conversations is a new virtual symposium convened by the College Art Association, the Design History Society, and the International Association of Word and Image Studies scheduled to take place on Tuesday 4th October 2022.

The symposium will investigate to what extent are materiality and mediation useful foci in the study of design, word and image? What happens when we bring them together? How do materiality and mediation work in tandem as productive subjects of enquiry? What are the local, regional and international variations in the ways these foci are understood and engaged by design historians and those working in word and image studies?

This global collaborative project brings together three intersecting constituencies - art and design, design history, word and image studies – to examine the ways in which materiality and mediation intersect.

Proposals may address the following, but are not limited by this list:

- mediating the ethics and sustainability of extraction and deployment of materials
- sensoriality of materials and mediation
- mediation as material activism
- mediating intersections of materiality and form (natural/synthetic/digital matter; art/craft/design/film/photography; - - prose/poetry/drama)
- localizing/globalizing materials through mediation
- ‘raw and cooked’ materials
- mediating materialities of scale
- mediating immateriality
- mediating materials as signifiers of identity politics
- (Im)material media of mediation
- agency of materials
- dialogues and disputes between makers and mediators.


Format
To promote transnational dialogue by the most equitable and sustainable means, speakers and participants are invited to make their contributions virtually.

Four 15-minute presentations will be followed by a one-hour round table discussion and Q&A. Presenters will be asked to record a talk in advance, for screening at the event, followed by live discussion.


Proposals must include: a proposal title; an abstract of 250 words; a statement of relevance to the symposium theme, Materiality and Mediation: Global Conversations; and a one-page CV listing major publications.

Please send your proposal via email to the DHS Administrator, Jenna Allsopp, (designhistorysociety@gmail.com) by 12 midnight GMT on Tuesday 14th June 2022.

Notifications of acceptance will be emailed on 8th July 2022.