How do democracy and political action, alongside their research, change in today’s visual age?
Imagi(ni)ng Democracy: Visual politicization and its methods -seminar
Friday 13 September 2024, 9:30–16:00
Helsinki University Museum, F3005, Main building, Fabianinkatu 33, Helsinki.
Today’s societies are permeated by visual content and modes of communication. This age of ‘hypervisibility’ affects our democratic public spheres, transforms political action, and produces entirely new forms of politicization. Yet, research on democratic practices and political participation has been methodologically and conceptually invested in words, failing to grasp the significance, the means of influence, and the power of visual practices of political action.
This full day seminar presents the key findings and takeaways of the five-year ERC-funded research project Imagi(ni)ng democracy -European youth becoming citizens by visual participation (2019–2024), which has studied – and developed tools for studying – visual politicization and political action across four European countries: Finland, France, Germany and Portugal.
Programme:
9:30–9:45 Welcome address: Vice Dean Timo Kaartinen
9:45–12:00 Session 1: Fame democracy and the visual age
Keynote: Fame democracy and the visual age, Eeva Luhtakallio & Taina Meriluoto
Panel: Theorizing the visual in democratic practices
Moderator: Professor Carla Malafaia,
Professor Moya Lloyd, University of Essex, Professor Katrin Tiidenberg, University of Tallinn, Professor Leena-Maija Rossi, University of Lapland, Professor Laurent Thévenot, EHESS Paris
12:00–13:30 Lunch
13:30–16:00 Session 2: Snap-along and AI integration: Methodological advances in studying visual political action
Keynote: Snap-along ethnography, Carla Malafaia & Taina Meriluoto
Keynote: Bridging ethnography and AI, Vasilis Malthezos & Eeva Luhtakallio
Panel: Challenges and promises of methods for studying democracy
Moderator: Juulia Heikkinen
Docent Salla-Maaria Laaksonen, University of Helsinki, Professor Anna Skarpelis, City University New York, Professor Laura Huttunen, Tampere University
16:00 Secret programme
16:10 Bubbles
Imagi(ni)ng Democracy: https://research.tuni.fi/visualstudieslab/projects/imagining-democracy/