Somatechnics 4.1, Special Issue on the Somatechnics of Movement

The folks at BiM are brimming over with excitement as we announce the launch of Somatechnics 4.1, a special issue on the Somatechnics of Movement. A long time coming, we're finally able to bring into print a selection of authors who may be familiar to some as participants at our Bodies in Movement conference in 2011. The line-up includes: an evocative extension by Michael O'Rourke of his original keynote with response; ghostly musings by Line Henriksen; Peta Hinton on cyberfeminist politics; Rebecca Coleman discussing 5:2 urge; Karin Sellberg's meditations on "the gap"; Gavin MacDonald charting affectively; Johanna Hällsten's situated sound-spaces, and interval and creativity by Anne Douglas and Kathleen Coessens.

 

We would like to thank all the contributors for making this possible, right from the very beginning in a few conference rooms in Edinburgh almost three years ago right through to now. Thanks for the wonderful support and patience - and we hope that everyone enjoys reading the journal as much as we enjoyed working on it.

Recordings Temporarily Offline

All visitors to the blog will notice that our audio streaming function is currently offline while we shift archive sites. We apologise for the inconvenience. Download links are still functioning and streams should be available again shortly.

Bodies in Movement Seminar with Catherine Malabou - Recordings

We are happy to announce that recordings of our seminar with Catherine Malabou are now available to stream online or download. You can stream the files via the audio player to the right of this screen or by pressing the play button next to the relevant file description on the Event Recordings page. The files may also be downloaded from this page. We sincerely apologise for any graininess in the recordings.

If the recordings do not appear on the player, please clear the cookies on your web browser. These audio files have also been uploaded to Archive.org. Happy listening!

Thank you to all participants of the Catherine Malabou seminar

The BiM organisers and Michael O'Rourke would like to thank all the attendees of the Catherine Malabou seminar on 21 January 2013. The event was a success because of your keen attentiveness and participation throughout the day, which stimulated some truly engaged discussion. We would particularly like to thank Jean-Paul Martinon, Tommy Lynch, Eszter Timar, Beth Lord and Liam Jones, for their considered and insightful responses, each of which extended inquiry into fascinating and unique areas. Finally, we would like to give warm thanks to Catherine Malabou for dedicating her time and efforts towards the event.

We look forward to making recordings of the seminar available for streaming on this blog very soon. Please check back for more within the week.

Further information on the Bodies in Movement Catherine Malabou Seminar 2013

We are pleased to announce that further information is now available for the Bodies in Movement Seminar featuring Catherine Malabou taking place at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities on 21 January 2013. Full details can be found on the Bodies in Movement Seminar Series page to the left.

A flyer for the event can also be viewed and downloaded from here.

 

The event is free for all attendees, but we do require all participants to read selected sections of Malabou's work before the seminar - these will be provided by the organisers. If you would like to attend, please email the organisers. Places are filling fast, so register your interest soon.



The Bodies in Movement Seminar Series presents Catherine Malabou, 21 January 2013, Edinburgh, 10:30am - 5:30pm

The Bodies in Movement Seminar organisers together with Michael O'Rourke (Independent Colleges, Dublin) and the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (Edinburgh) are pleased to announce that we will be holding an intimate, one-day seminar with Catherine Malabou at the University of Edinburgh on Monday, 21 January 2013.
 

Malabou is currently tenured at Kingston University, London and also teaches at the European Graduate School. She is renowned for moving across the fields of neuroscience, anthropology, biology, feminism, politics, literature, psychoanalysis and philosophy, as well as bringing medical and biological science and philosophy into conversation. Her philosophy has created the foundation for a wide range of current research which focuses on the intersections between medicine, (neuro- and biological) science and the humanities.

Held at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, 2 Hope Park Square, Edinburgh EH8 9NW. For further information, see the Bodies in Movement Seminar Series page. If you have any queries or wish to register your interest in attending, please contact the organisers.
 

Kamillea Aghtan (kamillea@hotmail.com)
Karin Sellberg (k.j.k.sellberg@gmail.com)
Lena Wånggren (l.e.wanggren@sms.ed.ac.uk)
Michael O'Rourke (tranquilised_icon@yahoo.com)

Thank you to all attendees of the Stuart Elden Seminar

The organisers would like to send out a warm thank you to all attendees of Stuart Elden's seminar on 2 July 2012. Thanks to all of you, the discussion we raised was engaged, quick-paced and fascinating. Furthermore, we'd like to thank our wonderful respondents for their thought-provoking contributions. Lastly, and importantly, we would like to give our heartfelt thanks to Stuart Elden for agreeing to take this time to share his current project and his thoughts in general with all of us.

The Bodies in Movement Seminar Series presents Stuart Elden, 2 July, Edinburgh, 2-6pm

The Bodies in Movement Seminar Series, with the support of the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH), is excited to present Stuart Elden, Professor in the Department of Geography at Durham University, as our third and last guest speaker for our Spring-Summer 2012 series of seminars. The afternoon seminar will take place on 2 July at IASH in Edinburgh.

Elden's challenging and interdisciplinary work in human geography and geopolitics has garnered him international recognition in a broad range of research fields. His present interests now turn towards Shakespearean geographies, "territory" and its definitional entanglements, and a critical revisioning of the forces at play in both text and territory when each informs the other. At this BiM Seminar, Elden turns a scrutinising eye on Coriolanus (the text and its recent 2011 cinematic counterpart starring Ralph Fiennes and Gerard Butler), then we open the floor to intimate discussion of his recent related work.

This is a free event, but booking is essential. Participants are asked to read the following texts in advance, which will be provided by the organisers upon confirmation of attendance:

• "Land, Terrain, Territory." Progress in Human Geography 34.6: 799-817.
• "The Geopolitics of King Lear: Territory, Land, Earth." Law and Literature 25 (forthcoming).

To secure a place at the seminar, please email one of the conference organisers. Further details on the BiM Seminar Series is available here.

Lena Wånggren (l.e.wanggren@sms.ed.ac.uk)
Kamillea Aghtan (kamillea@hotmail.com)
Karin Sellberg (k.j.k.sellberg@gmail.com)

Seminar Timetable

• 2:00-2:15pm Introduction
• 2:15-3:15pm Key Speaker
• 3:15-3:45pm Tea and Coffee
• 3:45-4:45pm Responses
• 4:45-6:00pm Open Discussion  

Held at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, 2 Hope Park Square, Edinburgh EH8 9NW.

Thank you to all participants at the Rosemarie Garland-Thomson Seminar

The Bodies in Movement organisers would like to send out a big thank you to all the attendees at the Rosemarie Garland-Thomson seminar on Thursday. The amazing discussion we had throughout the afternoon couldn't have been done without everybody's participation. We hope you got out as much from the experience as we have and hope to see you at future BiM events.

The Bodies in Movement Seminar Series presents Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, 14 June, Edinburgh, 2-6pm

The Bodies in Movement Seminar Series is delighted to present Rosemarie Garland-Thomson as the second guest speaker on our lineup of academic seminars for Spring-Summer 2012, taking place in room G2, 19 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LD.

Rosemarie Garland‐Thomson, Professor of Women's Studies at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, will join us for a half‐day, close discussion of her most current research. Garland‐Thomson's pioneering work in the field of disability studies has set the benchmark for research within and without the area. Her recent focus, within her rubric of "misfitting", engages with material feminism(s) and disability studies, attempting to explore, negotiate and harness their productive intricacies as coextensive fields.

This is a free event, but booking is essential. Participants are asked to read the following texts in advance, which will be provided by the organisers upon confirmation of attendance:

• "Integrating Disability, Transforming Feminist Theory." NSWA Journal 14.3 (2002): 1‐32.
• "Misfits: A Feminist Materialist Disability Concept." Hypatia 26.3 (2011): 591‐609.

To secure a place at the seminar, please email one of the conference organisers. Further details on the BiM Seminar Series is available here.
Karin Sellberg (k.j.k.sellberg@gmail.com)
Lena Wånggren (l.e.wanggren@sms.ed.ac.uk)
Kamillea Aghtan (kamillea@hotmail.com)


Order of events:


2:00‐2:15pm Introduction
2:15‐3:15pm Rosemarie Garland‐Thomson presents her work, "Disability, Gender, Bodies"
3:15‐3:45pm Tea and coffee break
3:45‐4:45pm Responses by Carole Jones, Andrea Zittlau and Bettina Papenburg
4:45‐6:00pm Open discussion


Room G2
19 George Square
University of Edinburgh
Edinburgh EH8 9LD

Thank you to all participants at Scott Wilson's Seminar

After a short interval of silence (for which this blog administrator apologises profusely), the Bodies in Movement organisers would like to extend heartfelt thanks to all the participants of Scott Wilson's seminar on 25 May. It would not have been successful with everyone. Special thanks to Michael O'Rourke, Douglas Clark and Christos Hadjiyiannis for their insightful and creative responses. Finally, and most importantly, we are especially grateful to Scott Wilson for sharing his time and thoughts with us.

The Bodies in Movement Seminar Series presents Scott Wilson, 25 May, Edinburgh, 2-6pm

Bodies in Movement, supported by the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH), is extremely excited to present Scott Wilson as the first academic speaker in our Spring-Summer 2012 Seminar Series, taking place at IASH, Edinburgh from 2-6pm on 25 May 2012.

A member of both the London Graduate School and the School of Humanities at Kingston University, London, Wilson will join us for a half-day, in-depth discussion of his work. Wilson's current research in psychoanalysis, influenced by cultural theory – particularly within the areas of cinema and music – both tests the limits of psychoanalysis as a discipline and seeks to revise its contemporary social bases. Be prepared for dashes of game theory, Aphex Twin, David Lynch, psychosis and more in this fascinating and dynamic afternoon of discussion.

This is a free event, but booking is essential. Participants are asked to read the following texts in advance, which will be provided by the organisers upon confirmation of attendance:

• "Making Numbers Speak: John F. Nash Jr. and the Madness of Neoliberalism." Culture/Clinic 1.1 (forthcoming): 1–17.
• "The Braindance of the Hikikomori: Towards a Return to Speculative Psychoanalysis." Paragraph 33.3 (2010): 392–409.
• "Neuracinema." David Lynch in Theory. Ed. François-Xavier Gleyzon. Prague: Literaria Pragensia Press, 2010. 70–86.
• Extract from Chapter 6, "Surprised by Joy" in The Order of Joy: Beyond the Cultural Politics of Enjoyment. New York: SUNY, 2008. 117–129.

To secure a place at the seminar, please email one of the conference organisers. Further details on the BiM Seminar Series is available here.

Karin Sellberg (k.j.k.sellberg@gmail.com)
Lena Wånggren (l.e.wanggren@sms.ed.ac.uk)
Kamillea Aghtan (kamillea@hotmail.com)

Order of events:

2:00-2:15pm  Introduction2:15-3:15pm  Scott Wilson presents his work
3:15-3:45pm  Tea and coffee break
3:45-4:45pm  Three responses (15 minutes each) by Michael O'Rourke, Douglas Clark and Christos Hadjiyiannis
4:45-6:00pm  Open discussion

Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH)

2 Hope Park Square

Edinburgh EH8 9NW

BiM Seminar Series: Scott Wilson, Change of Date

For all participants interested in the Bodies in Movement Seminar with Scott Wilson, please note that the date has been changed to Friday 25 May 2011. The location of the seminar remains the same. We apologise for any inconvenience.

BiM News: The Bodies in Movement Seminar Series

The Bodies in Movement conference organisers are pleased to announce the Bodies in Movement Seminar Series, held with the generous support of the Institute of Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH) at the University of Edinburgh.

This set of afternoon seminar sessions will be devoted to closely discussing the work of three invited academics who are currently developing new and innovative research ideas which explore the interstices of the humanities, materiality and  the sciences.

Our preliminary schedule is as follows:

On 25 May 2012, Scott Wilson (Media and Communication, Kingston University) will join us for an afternoon of schizophrenic compulsions, neo-liberalism and cinema.

On 14 June 2012, Rosemarie Garland-Thomson (Women's Studies, Emory University) will open a discussion on her current work in the field of disability studies and the humanities.

On 2 July 2012, Stuart Elden (Geography, Durham University) will dig into Shakespeare's Coriolanus with a delicious geographical and material twist.

Each seminar will take place from 2:00 - 6:00pm. To begin each session, the invited academic present a facet of their current work. This will be followed by responses and open discussion. Participants are asked to prepare in advance for these seminars by reading key material chosen by our invited presenters.

Further details on format, topics and materials can be found here.

Attendance is free but places are limited. If you would like to participate in any of the seminars, please contact one of the organisers.

Lena Wånggren (l.e.wanggren@sms.ed.ac.uk)
Karin Sellberg (k.j.k.sellberg@gmail.com)
Kamillea Aghtan (kamillea@hotmail.com)

Online Archive Maintenance

It has come to our attention that our online storage service is currently undergoing maintenance. Unfortunately, during this period of approximately two days our audio recordings of BiM conference presentations will not be accessible. The organisers apologise for the inconvenience. The files should be available for listening very soon.

BiM Recordings: Recordings by Peta Hinton & Rosemary Deller

We have two new recorded presentation offerings available from today on the BiM blog. Accessible on the player to the right of the screen and on the Conference Recordings page are Peta Hinton's "The Quantum Dance and the World's 'Extraordinary Liveliness': Refiguring Corporeal Ethics in Karan Barad’s Agential Realism" and Rosemary Deller's "Getting to the Meat(iness) of the Matter: The Dynamic Decay of Jana Sterbak’s Flesh Dress of an Albino Anorexic (1987)". Both presentations featured on the first day of the conference.

Many thanks to all presenters who have given their permission for these audio files to be available for streaming. We appreciate your help in letting the conference stay alive online.

N.B. If you are experiencing trouble with viewing some tracks in the small music player, please try clearing your browser cookies, as this may prevent additional material from being displayed.

BiM Recordings: New Recordings by Anne Graefer, Anna Chromik, Alison Crockford and Samantha Walton

Apologies for the month-long absence from the BiM blog. Unfortunately, unforeseen technical setbacks have prevented updates for this period.

We are happy to break this drought by offering four new archived presentations, available at your listening leisure from the Conference Recordings page or from the player to the right. These additional panel presentations are: Anne Graefer's "Queering Skin: Re-reading Sexuality through the Skin of Online Representations in dlisted.com" from panel 2B, Skin Schematics; Anna Chromik's "Pulsating Motility: Corporeal Tropes in the Constructions of Pre-subjectivity" from panel 4A, Figural Images; Alison Crockford's "Sex in Stasis, Bodies in Becoming: The Monstrous Body and the Eroticisation of the Scientific Gaze" from panel 4C, Transforming Bodies and Minds; and Samantha Walton's "The 'Self' at the Mercy of the Mind and Body in Interwar Crime Fiction", also from panel 4C.

We thank everyone for their patience. We would also like to encourage any presenters who have not yet responded to our request to archive their presentations to let us know whether we can as soon as possibe.

N.B. If you are experiencing trouble with viewing some tracks in the small music player, please try clearing your browser cookies, as this may prevent additional material from being displayed.

BiM Recordings: Keynote Lecture by Olga Taxidou

For those of you who may have missed the scintillating keynote by Olga Taxidou on the second day of the Bodies in Movement conference, or for those of you who would just like to listen to it again, we now have the audio recording of "The Bacchae and the Theatricality of Cruelty" available for streaming on the Conference Recordings page of the blog or on the player to the right of the screen. We have also archived the response given by Karin Sellberg, available at from the same locations.

Thanks to everyone for their patience while the talks are uploaded. We hope that you enjoy listening.

BiM Recordings: Xavier Aldana Reyes & Sue Hawksley

As previously mentioned, slowly but surely we will be migrating the recordings we have been given permission to archive (and that we managed to successfully record on the day of the conference) onto the blog for streaming. It is our delight to now announce that two presentation are now available for your listening pleasure: firstly, "'Snuff' is Enough: Corporeal Liminality in Contemporary Horror" by Xavier Aldana Reyes; and secondly, "Bodytext: Speech, Script, (Re)action, Iteration. An Enactive Inquiry into Embodiment and Language" by Sue Hawksley.

The recordings are accessible from the Conference Recordings page at this blog or from the player on the right. Look out for more archived material soon.

BiM Recordings: Keynote Lecture by Michael O'Rourke

We are pleased to announce that we are starting to incorporate streaming links to recordings from the conference. You may play the recordings from the Conference Recordings page accessible via the navigation bar on the left side of the screen. We have also added an audio player to the right of the screen which can be used to select and play tracks. Due to bandwidth restrictions, it would be greatly appreciated if you only load the tracks to which you intend to listen.

The first available linked tracks available through BiM are the Keynote Lecture by Michael O'Rourke and the response provided by Kamillea Aghtan. Check back for more talks soon.