- Convenors:
-
Judith Aston
(University of the West of England)
Franziska Weidle (Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg)
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- Discussants:
-
Daniel Fetzner
(Offenburg University)
Karen Boswall (University of Sussex)
Bharath Ananthanarayana (University of Exeter)
Florian Thalhofer (UWE)
- Format:
- Partner Event
- Sessions:
- Wednesday 8 March, -
Time zone: Europe/London
Short Abstract:
This round table will consist of an interactive dialogue on speculative futures between members of the Polyphonic Documentary Project. It will focus on our use of co-creational and multimodal methods to help shift our minds towards decolonised and more-than-human worlding practices.
Long Abstract:
"Today our problem lies - it seems - in the fact that we do not yet have ready narratives, not only for the future, but even for a concrete now, for the ultra-rapid transformations of today's world. We lack the language, we lack the points of view, the metaphors, myths and new fables. Yet we do see frequent attempts to harness rusty, anachronistic narratives that cannot fit the future to imaginaries of the future..." (Olga Tokarczuk 2018).
Our round table will interrogate this quote through the lens of the Polyphonic Documentary Project. The format will consist of a focused conversation in which we will discuss our approach to narrative and worlding practices. All panel members are either trained in or have a specific interest in Sensory and Visual Anthropology, which will enable us to connect our conversation to core and ongoing concerns within the discipline. Co-creation, de-colonisation, more-than-human, multi-modality, non-linearity, polyphony, precarity and uncertainty will be considered as key concepts.
At the heart of the discussion will be our central interest in finding ways to explore the transformative potential of the methods and digital tools with which we are working for creating generative dialogue and speculating about alternative futures. Whilst our current focus is on transforming our own awareness and understanding of possibilities, we are also keen to apply what we are continuing to discover into wider contexts and settings. With this in mind, we will open up the discussion to our audience with a view to exploring connections and resonances.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Wednesday 8 March, 2023, -Bharath Ananthanarayana (University of Exeter)
Paper short abstract:
Bharath Ananthanarayana is a PhD student at University of Exeter. His research is a 'following' of ginger into its commodity-scape emerging out of the Western Ghats in India. He is an active contributor on the Polyphonic Documentary project.
Paper long abstract:
“Today our problem lies – it seems – in the fact that we do not yet have ready narratives, not only for the future, but even for a concrete now, for the ultra-rapid transformations of today’s world. We lack the language, we lack the points of view, the metaphors, myths and new fables. Yet we do see frequent attempts to harness rusty, anachronistic narratives that cannot fit the future to imaginaries of the future...” (Olga Tokarczuk 2018). Our round table will interrogate this quote through the lens of the Polyphonic Documentary Project. The format will consist of a focused conversation in which we will discuss our approach to narrative and worlding practices. All panel members are either trained in or have a specific interest in Sensory and Visual Anthropology, which will enable us to connect our conversation to core and ongoing concerns within the discipline. Co-creation, de-colonisation, more-than-human, multi-modality, non-linearity, polyphony and uncertainty will be considered as key concepts. At the heart of the discussion will be our central interest in finding ways to explore the transformative potential of the methods and digital tools with which we are working for creating generative dialogue and speculating about alternative futures. Whilst our current focus is on transforming our own awareness and understanding of possibilities, we are also keen to apply what we are continuing to discover into wider contexts and settings. With this in mind, we will open up the discussion to our audience with a view to exploring connections and resonances.
Franziska Weidle (Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg)
Paper short abstract:
Franzi Weidle is a visual anthropologist, currently working as a learning designer at Brandenburg University of Technology. She also freelances as a change agent for transformative communication and education. Her PhD focused on the role of media software in documentary and ethnographic filmmaking.
Paper long abstract:
“Today our problem lies – it seems – in the fact that we do not yet have ready narratives, not only for the future, but even for a concrete now, for the ultra-rapid transformations of today’s world. We lack the language, we lack the points of view, the metaphors, myths and new fables. Yet we do see frequent attempts to harness rusty, anachronistic narratives that cannot fit the future to imaginaries of the future...” (Olga Tokarczuk 2018). Our round table will interrogate this quote through the lens of the Polyphonic Documentary Project. The format will consist of a focused conversation in which we will discuss our approach to narrative and worlding practices. All panel members are either trained in or have a specific interest in Sensory and Visual Anthropology, which will enable us to connect our conversation to core and ongoing concerns within the discipline. Co-creation, de-colonisation, more-than-human, multi-modality, non-linearity, polyphony and uncertainty will be considered as key concepts. At the heart of the discussion will be our central interest in finding ways to explore the transformative potential of the methods and digital tools with which we are working for creating generative dialogue and speculating about alternative futures. Whilst our current focus is on transforming our own awareness and understanding of possibilities, we are also keen to apply what we are continuing to discover into wider contexts and settings. With this in mind, we will open up the discussion to our audience with a view to exploring connections and resonances.
Karen Boswall (University of Sussex)
Paper short abstract:
In her doctoral research Karen explored decolonial and feminist applications of musical film production and exhibition in Mozambique (Boswall, 2022). She is now developing alternative non-linear narrative tools and methods within the collaborative environment of the Polyphonic Documentary Project.
Paper long abstract:
The project's aim is to explore the potential of interactive documentary for promoting interdisciplinary dialogue and exchange in a context of climate emergency and increasing polarization. At the heart of this is an ongoing search for transformative approaches to narrative which can help to facilitate multi-perspectival thinking and transcultural understanding.