The Organizing Committee proudly announces that Call for Papers on International Conference Visuality 2023: Media and Communication in the Age of (Dis)Information is now open. 

In his work Picture Theory: Essays on Verbal and Visual Representation (1994), W. J. T. Mitchel claimed that a post-structuralist interest in language and textuality (often referred to as ‘linguistic turn’) had given way to a new interest in the concept of visuality. Since language could not offer a full explanation of reality, theorists of society and culture were united in their increasing emphasis on the power of the visuals in art, science and indeed, everyday life (Blair 2010). In other words, visuality is intertextual, cross-sectoral and coextensive with the phenomenal field in which we live, interact and communicate (Kačerauskas, Mickūnas 2020).

One of the main regions of the above mentioned field is socio-political space, which nowadays rotates mainly about various forms of media and (dis)information they spread. Visual communication as the intersection point of visuality, creativity and communication plays a very significant role in this area. Namely, visual communication points to the contemporary political context and particularly to the visual aspects of new media and (dis)information. In the contest among  media and politics, a more imaginative player usually succeeds. Moreover, visuality has connotations of truth in a propagandistic war. Visual information discloses the brutal reality of the war, provokes political reaction, memorandums and protests. On the other hand, visuality becomes the means of disinformation. Therefore, despite or even instead of the post-truth situation, visual communication forces to choose one side or the other, namely, truth or disinformation.

One of the most effective measures for preventing or at least mitigating the impact of disinformation is critical thinking supported and followed by scientific knowledge the spread of which requires relevant communication.  For a long time, science communication has been related to the written format and research papers. However, the rising importance of the Internet and information technologies has profoundly changed the way science is communicated. Researchers, science communicators and other players are using audio-visual media to reinvent their stories, deconstruct complex phenomena and increase the outreach of scientific publications. Digital tools also allow elevating public engagement in higher levels through the inclusion of citizens and other stakeholders into scientific processes. In this case, citizen science acts as one of the most discussed practices of such arrangement. This is a broad area covering a range of engagement levels from being observers or funders to tagging pictures or collecting observations. As a quite new phenomenon, this type of engagement requires more research leading to new ways, strategies and methods.  

 

Within the aforementioned theoretical frameworks and beyond, our conference will attempt to address the following questions about a number of various contexts of visuality as we understand them today: 

•    What role does visuality play under war conditions? 
•    What kind of communication is dominant in creative industries? 
•    What are the philosophical aspects of communication and media? 
•    What is the relationship between visuality, media and politics and how are these areas connected?
•     What are the aspects of visuality in the urban environment? 
•    What is the relationship between visuality, media education and propaganda? 
•    What implications does visuality have on (dis)information? 
•    What are the historical aspects of media war? 
•    What is the role of creativity under (dis)information conditions? 
•    What is the role of science communication and citizen science under (dis)information conditions? 
•    Does visuality eliminate or encourage creativity in media? 
•    What are innovative methods for science communication and citizen engagement?