Transforming Visuality: Reciprocal Relations of Image and Society

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Applying methods from sociology, educational science, communication- and media studies, the Transforming Visuality network seeks to develop an interdisciplinary theory that targets the reciprocal nature of image and society. The theoretical and analytical investigation focuses on the consequential effects of images in the construction of social reality and seeks to develop an understanding of their social consequences. Members take the material presence of images as the starting point of their reflections. Three theoretical transformations are examined to describe the complex tensions in the reciprocal relations between image-presence and (social-historic) image-context. These transformations are:I. Synesthetic – addressing the affectivity of images, that is not constrained by the visual sense, but rather involving additional senses (i.e. hearing, or touch).II. Imaginary – focusing on the relation between image, mediality and potentiality.III. Power – investigating visuality as a constitutive part of power relations in social contexts. The theoretical focal point of Transformative Visuality is to develop a theoretical language, supported by empirical analyses, that applies to the logic of images and their negotiation in social contexts. On the one hand the network targets the thematic issue of image-practices in the context of forced migration. On the other hand it chooses a media-centered approach to reflect on image-practices in social media environments. On the basis of empirical analyses the network seeks to deliver a description of the reciprocal relations of image and society. Thereby it aims to develop a theoretical terminology that is applicable across the social sciences and cultural studies, and furthermore, overcomes conceptualizations of image that are based on one-dimensional notions of reflection or representation. Particularly the narrow definition of image as material presence combined with a dynamic focus on situations of boundary blurring (synesthetic, imaginary, power) are an ideal foundation for building a transformative theory of visuality which targets the reciprocal relations of image and society.