8th ESPRit Conference 2019: Periodicals and Visual Culture

The subject of the 2019 European Society for Periodical Research (ESPRit) Conference will be the visual culture of periodical literature, viewed in its broadest sense and in a comparative context. This approach is intended to encompass all visual aspects of periodicals, including typography, covers, format, illustration, fine and avant garde art, cartoons, advertising copy, photojournalism, fashion, portraiture, illustrated travel accounts and ethnographic studies, religious imagery, propaganda and all other dimensions of the visual culture of the printed page. Of particular interest are the development and use of new print technologies for the reproduction of images, the juxtapositions or interactions of imagery and text (at the level of the page or the opening, the issue or the series), the evolution of visual tropes/memes (for example in propaganda and advertising), innovation in design, the emergence of new markets, studies of reader reception of and engagement with visual cultures, the formal (legal) or informal (editorial) regulation of the printed image, and the influence of periodical illustration on art and photography more broadly and on the use of imagery in the daily press in particular.

The conference will draw on and enhance the current Greek Press History Workshop (ETMIET)/ Research Centre for Modern Greece (KENI), Panteion University research project on Greek twentieth-century popular print that seeks to establish the first fully-comprehensive archive of periodicals in Greece, in collaboration with the Journalists’ Union of Periodical and Electronic Press (ESPIT), and the National Library of Greece. Further dimensions that arise from the particular Greek experience, and which invite broader international comparative perspectives, include: (a) the relationships between the uses of imagery in the periodical literature of metropoles and diasporas; and (b) an exploration of the methodologies and the political economies of periodicals research, particularly under the current global circumstances of austerity for the Humanities in general.

The Conference theme itself will be illustrated with appropriate exhibitions and pop-up displays, for which a wider audience is also under consideration, including schools, in order to leave a more lasting legacy for the people of Greece.

Proposals for 20-minute papers on any aspect of the visual culture of periodicals, of any period or region, are invited for the 8th Conference of European Society for Periodical Research (ESPRit), which will be held in Athens in September 2019. Accepted proposals will be grouped into broadly congruent thematic panels, normally with three speakers in each.

Subjects may include the following:

illustrations
cartoons
formats
title and font design
advertising
photojournalism
fashion
portraiture
travel accounts
ethnographic studies
religious imagery
propaganda
the presence of periodicals (production, distribution or consumption) in visual culture more broadly
and other dimensions of the printed image
of particular interest are juxtapositions or interactions of imagery and text – either at the level of the page or the opening, the issue or the series.
In addition, we intend to organise specific workshop sessions on Greek periodicals and visual culture, consisting of panels and group proposals relating to, for example, covers, advertisements, layout etc. We also invite proposals for two atelier sessions, one for MA and PhD candidates, the other focused on a regionally-based ‘state of the discipline’ panel.

The conference will draw on and enhance the current Greek Press History Workshop (ETMIET)/ Research Centre for Modern Greece (KENI), Panteion University research project on Greek twentieth-century popular print that seeks to establish the first fully-comprehensive archive of periodicals in Greece, in collaboration with the Journalists’ Union of Periodical and Electronic Press (ESPIT), and the National Library of Greece.

The working language of the conference is English and Greek. We welcome proposals from researchers at all stages of their careers.

Proposals of around 250 words (references not included) for 20-minute papers and a short CV (no more than 200 words) should be sent to Esta dirección de correo electrónico está siendo protegida contra los robots de spam. Necesita tener JavaScript habilitado para poder verlo. by 31 March 2019.

We also welcome proposals for joint panels of three papers. Please include a brief rationale for the panel along with an abstract and CV for each presenter.