“It is a commonplace of modern cultural criticism” – states W. J. T. Mitchell – “that images have a power in our world undreamed of by the ancient idolaters.” In fact, the sheer multitude, insistent sensory demand, and increasing impact of images make up the very core of many ideas of contemporary culture; they inform our understanding of the present (as well as its relation to the past); they contribute to the socio-political significance of media; they define the epistemological credit of imaging technologies …
In light of this immense agency of images, the course considers them not so much as mere ‘representations’ of physical or mental reality but rather as an experience, operation or visual event in its own right. After an introductory discussion of the ‘truth value’ and ‘operative potential’ of images, from Plato to the present, the following series of case studies focuses on the uses of photography, film and electronic media in three discursive fields: we will address the capacity of techno-images to produce (scientific) knowledge, display or reconstruct historical pasts and, finally, translate political representations of power and equality – while constantly returning, with every example, to basic issues of visual signification, invention, and ‘excess’.
Beyond tracing many of the historical shifts and (inter-)media transformations of the ‘image as agent’, the course also aims at deepening the participants’ critical awareness of their own ideas, perceptions and employments of imagery in everyday and academic contexts.- Instructor: Ulrich Meurer