Social and political transformation needs imagination. Without inspiring visions of the future that capture the imagination, policies that aim to incentivise behaviour change are doomed. This is why scholars and activists are interested in political imaginaries, the ‘mental maps’ that guide political behaviour, and mobilize communities.
We invite you to this workshop dedicated to exploring how political imaginaries provoke, configure and restrict social change. Panels will consider the social significance of imaginaries, the role of the arts and literature in grasping and challenging dominant imaginaries, and the possibilities for finding alternatives.
Programme:
10.00 – 10:10 Welcome address and Introductions
10:15 - 11.30 Panel One: Conceptualising Political Imaginaries
Paula Diehl (University of Kiel, Germany)
Sophia Hatzisavvidou (University of Bath, UK)
What are political imaginaries and why do they matter? Are they descriptive or normative or both? How do they configure temporality, construct the future and facilitate transformation? This panel considers the significance of imaginaries for social interaction, democratic life and political transition.
11:45 - 13:00 Panel Two: Confronting Political Imaginaries
Oliver Marchart (University of Vienna, Austria)
Carl Death (University of Manchester, UK)
How might dominant imaginaries be challenged? Can alternative imaginaries offer distinct representations of political agency, collective identity and democratic possibility? Where are these alternative imaginaries located and when do they emerge? This panel considers the politics of political imaginaries and the possibilities they provide for the disruption and expansion of institutions and ideas.
14.00 - 15:15 Panel Three: Practising Political imaginaries
Florian Malzacher (Berlin, Germany)
Cecilie Sachs Olsen (OsloMet University, Norway)
How can the field of arts develop new ways of grasping and challenging the modes through which political imaginaries operate? How can artistic practice cultivate critical attention to the presence or absence of certain voices, practices or ways of knowing and being in political imaginaries? This panel considers the practices and methods for engaging with political imaginaries that can be developed through artistic practices.
15:15 – 15:30 Conclusion: Future Work on Political Imaginaries
Amanda Machin (UiA, Norway)
Kontaktperson:
- amanda.machin@uia.no
- Phone
- +47 38 14 15 50