Beyond Text: Spiritualism and Technology in Contemporary and Historical Contexts

超越文本：当代和历史背景下的招魂术和技术

• 批准号: AH/G000387/1
• 负责人: Sas Mays
• 金额: $ 1.18万
• 依托单位: University of Westminster
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2008
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2008 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FG000387%2F1
• 关键词: Beyond; Text; Spiritualism; Technology; Contemporary

The central theme of the project concerns historical and contemporary spiritualist photographic practices. Since spiritualism has in the main not been considered an object of serious academic study, there is a requirement in this context to assess the forces that have affected the cultural reception of spiritualism. Spiritualist photography is a discourse of transmission and memory, in that it is concerned with preserving memory of communication with the dead. Spiritualist photography questions the trust placed in technologies in terms of their documentary truth, but whatever the veracity of such claims, it also marks a desire for continuity with the past and the maintenance of personal relations and cultural values. In this light, the project aims to consider spiritualist photographies as practices that may attest to, and be witness of, their times/that is, as creative and critical practices that may shed light on wider cultural, economic, and political forces.While spiritualist photography has received little serious or sustained academic attention, this aspect of visual culture has received significant attention in the work of contemporary photographic artists. Such practitioners both reflect upon historical instances of spiritualist practices and upon contemporary concerns/their work is, in this sense, the primary object of investigation as it creatively and reflexively links past and present, tradition and modernity. However, not only has spiritualism been an object of attention for literature and literary criticism: visual practices have been developed through textual techniques, such as automatic writing. Spiritualist photography thus needs to be understood through a multidisciplinary perspective. There is then, a cultural history of technology and mysticism, yet it is one that remains largely unwritten. Furthermore, communication between visual practitioners, academic researchers, and non-academic specialists in this field remains under-developed. In response to this situation, the project is designed to bring together participants from, and to foster novel communication between, the department of English and the department of photography at the University of Westminster, independent visual artists and curators, and specialists and archivists in the field of spiritualism. There are two key collections in this field: that of the Harry Price Library of Magical Literature at Senate House, London; and that of the Society for Psychical Research, at the University of Cambridge. The Society for Psychical Research would be our partner organisation in this project. Members from this non-academic institution would be involved as specialists in the field.The project has two linked forms: five seminar workshops and a larger public event. Through the seminars, the project aims to foster links and communication between academic researchers, practitioners and archivists, facilitating novel contact between individuals and institutions that would otherwise not be brought together. Through this, the project aims to develop the research of individual specialists, and to provide the basis for ongoing networks of researchers. Through a public event, a colloquium presenting theoretical and visual material, the project aims to open itself to wider public involvement. The colloquium will be accompanied by a catalogue that will contain visual examples of historical and contemporary spiritualist photographic practices and that will publish articles by project participants that have been developed through the seminar workshops. The Society for Psychical research would provide archival material for photographic reproduction in the catalogue alongside the work of contemporary photographers. Thus, the aim of the project is to facilitate ongoing research and to develop multidisciplinary understanding and public knowledge concerning relations between technology and spiritualism in historical and contemporary culture.

该项目的中心主题涉及历史和当代唯灵论摄影实践。由于招魂术基本上不被视为严肃学术研究的对象，因此在这种情况下有必要评估影响招魂术文化接受的力量。招魂摄影是一种传播和记忆的话语，因为它关注保存与死者交流的记忆。招魂摄影质疑人们对技术记录真实性的信任，但无论这种说法的真实性如何，它也标志着人们对延续过去以及维持个人关系和文化价值观的渴望。有鉴于此，该项目旨在将唯灵论摄影视为可以证明和见证其时代的实践/也就是说，作为可以揭示更广泛的文化、经济和政治力量的创造性和批判性实践。虽然唯灵论摄影很少受到严肃或持续的学术关注，但视觉文化的这一方面在当代摄影艺术家的作品中受到了极大的关注。这些实践者既反思唯灵论实践的历史实例，也反思当代关注点/从这个意义上说，他们的作品是调查的主要对象，因为它创造性地、反射性地将过去与现在、传统与现代联系起来。然而，唯灵论不仅成为文学和文学批评关注的对象：视觉实践也通过文本技术（例如自动书写）得到发展。因此，唯灵论摄影需要从多学科的角度来理解。那么，就有一段技术和神秘主义的文化史，但它在很大程度上仍然是未成文的。此外，该领域的视觉从业者、学术研究人员和非学术专家之间的交流仍然不发达。针对这种情况，该项目旨在将来自威斯敏斯特大学英语系和摄影系、独立视觉艺术家和策展人、唯灵论领域的专家和档案管理员的参与者聚集在一起，并促进他们之间的新颖交流。该领域有两个重要馆藏：位于伦敦参议院的哈利·普莱斯魔法文学图书馆；以及剑桥大学心理研究协会的协会。心理研究协会将是我们在这个项目中的合作伙伴组织。这个非学术机构的成员将作为该领域的专家参与其中。该项目有两种相互联系的形式：五个研讨会和一个更大的公共活动。通过研讨会，该项目旨在促进学术研究人员、从业人员和档案管理员之间的联系和沟通，促进个人和机构之间的新颖接触，否则这些接触将无法聚集在一起。通过这一点，该项目旨在发展个别专家的研究，并为持续的研究人员网络提供基础。通过公共活动、展示理论和视觉材料的研讨会，该项目旨在让更广泛的公众参与。研讨会将附有一份目录，其中包含历史和当代唯灵论摄影实践的视觉实例，并将发表项目参与者通过研讨会编写的文章。心理研究协会将在目录中提供摄影复制的档案材料以及当代摄影师的作品。因此，该项目的目的是促进正在进行的研究，并发展有关历史和当代文化中技术与唯灵论之间关系的多学科理解和公共知识。