Transforming Visuality: Reciprocal Relations of Image and Society

应用社会学、教育学、传播学和传播学的方法，变形视觉网络试图发展一种跨学科的理论，目标是图像和社会的互惠性质。理论和分析研究的重点是图像在构建社会现实中的结果效应，并试图发展对其社会后果的理解。成员将图像的物质存在作为他们反思的起点。通过三种理论转换来描述图像呈现和(社会历史)图像语境之间相互作用关系中的复杂张力。这些转变是：1.通感--处理图像的情感，不受视觉的限制，而是涉及额外的感官(如听觉或触觉)。2.想象--关注图像、中介性和潜力之间的关系。3.权力--考察视觉作为社会语境中权力关系的构成部分。变革性视觉的理论重点是发展一种理论语言，并以经验分析为支撑，应用于社会语境中图像的逻辑及其协商。一方面，该网络针对强迫移徙背景下的形象做法这一专题问题。另一方面，它选择了一种以媒体为中心的方法来反思社交媒体环境中的形象实践。在实证分析的基础上，该网络试图提供对形象和社会的相互关系的描述。因此，它的目的是开发一个适用于社会科学和文化研究的理论术语，并进一步克服基于反映或表征的一维概念的形象概念化。特别是，将图像定义为物质存在的狭隘定义，以及对边界模糊情况(联觉、想象、权力)的动态关注，是建立以图像和社会的相互关系为目标的变革性视觉理论的理想基础。

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.