Visual Methods: Day One (23rd March)

Thursday 23 March

10.00 – 10.10 am Welcoming Words by Dr Estrella Sendra

10.15 – 11.15 am Film in/as Research: a presentation by Dr Estrella Sendra (King’s College London) and Lily Ford (Birkbeck, University of London)

In this introductory presentation, Dr Estrella Sendra will offer an overview of the series. This will be followed by a dialogue with filmmaker and historian Dr Lily Ford. They will both share insights on the way in which film can enhance and be understood as research, illustrated with examples from their own practice.

11.15 – 11.30 am Tea break

11.30 am – 12.30 pm Photography in/as Research: a presentation by Dr Meghan Peterson (King’s College London)

This presentation will offer an overview of diverse ways in which photography can serve as a creative and inclusive research tool, based on projects that are still ongoing. It will identify different photographic techniques and uses, and address the opportunities and ethical considerations to take into account when photographing in research.

12.30 – 1.00 pm LUNCH BREAK (provided for all participants)

1.00 – 3.00 pm Decolonising Research through Film: a multi-modal roundtable with the Screen Worlds collective (SOAS, University of London)

Artistic researchers and filmmakers Dr Nobunye Levin and Dr Michael W. Thomas, will discuss and share extracts from their research films as part of their work on the ERC-funded research project Screen Worlds: Decolonising Film and Screen Studies, led by Prof Lindiwe Dovey at SOAS, University of London. Dr Nobunye Levin will speak about, Reverie, a collaborative project, which lies at the nexus of the essay film and videographic criticism, made with South African filmmaker Palesa Shongwe. Reverie is a work in process assembled from “pieces” – film fragments, fragments of text and conversation, and out-takes – to reveal a feminist love praxis in the collaborative life of the two filmmakers and to consider reverie as a political concept for “emancipatory dreams” (Verges, 2021) and dreaming. Dr Michael W. Thomas will share extracts from his documentary film Cine-Addis, also approached collaboratively, with Ethiopian filmmaker Yidnekachew Shumete. This examines love in Ethiopian movies and Addis Ababa’s film and cinemagoing culture.

This event is open to all postgraduate researchers, particularly LAHP PhD candidates, as well as early career researchers from partner institutions affiliated to King’s College London, SOAS, University of London, and Learning on Screen. However, due to the venue capacity and the interactive dimension of the sessions, places are limited to 45 participants, so registration is needed through the Eventbrite pages for each of the events. Participants are welcome to register in as many events as desired, as long as there’s space for it.