CALL FOR PAPERS

Conference

PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE LEFT


Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas
(UNL/FCSH)
Institute of Contemporary History / FCSH
(IHC/FCSH)
National Museum for Contemporary Art/ Chiado Museum (MNAC-MC)




Since the late nineteenth century, with Jacob Rijs and Lewis Hine as many others from, photography has been a medium for denouncing injustice, claiming for better life means and helping revolutionary causes. As a natural consequence of its documental nature it became today the privileged medium for modern and contemporary art that aim to challenge political and social establishment.
This conference will explore photographic creation as a social and leftist weapon and its publics all along the twentieth and twentieth-first century. It aims to examine the relationship between documentary photography, human causes and social ideals, class and political commitment, social and economical criticism. It will consider photographic practices and their production of both publics and politics, thinking specifically about the relationship between Leftist practices and the mainstream. It will be accompanied by a film projection program at the National Museum of Contemporary Art /Chiado Museum in Lisbon, the site where the conference will take place on 16 and 17 June 2016.

We invite paper submission of no more than 500 words abstract that focuses on photography related to:
• social work
• revolutionary causes
• colonial and postcolonial
• political fights
• the role of images in leftist campaigns
• photography and ideology
• contemporary art photography and social criticism


Keynote speakers
Jorge Ribalta (confirmed)
Steve Edwards (confirmed)

Abstracts due: 12 April 2016

Conference Venue & Dates
National Museum of Contemporary Art/ Museu do Chiado in Lisbon (Portugal)
16-17 June 2016

Languages
Portuguese, Spanish, French and English

Please send your papers by 12th April 2016 to:
patrikia.leal@gmail.com
lorenakrs@gmail.com