Monday, March 25, 2024

An Invocation for Sublime Histories

On Tuesday 26 March, I'm presenting a paper at the University of Gloucestershire Creative Arts Conference 2024! I've never presented a paper before* so I have no idea what I'm doing.

Abstract:

This paper is a fragmentary exploration of the historical sublime - the element of chaos and uncertainty in history - and how it could potentially be utilised to empower and encourage marginalised and excluded peoples to create their own histories. I want to use this concept to ask people not only to engage with the mysterious and dynamic elements of the past, but to choose more varied approaches and methods to conducting and communicating their research. 
 
The historical sublime is a concept I borrowed from deconstructionist historical theorists (Hayden White, Alun Munslow, Keith Jenkins) and which features prominently in my PhD work; my project involved attempting to visually evoke and explore a multiplicity of speculative lost experiences of some of the people involved in my historical case study. 
 
The paper itself is illustrated (I’m an illustrator), and the imagery is intended to act as a spark to the audience’s imaginations, to prompt them to envision how they might create their own understandings of the historical sublime and how they could use it in their own work.

Paper itself (fully illustrated):









* Alright so I did this in 2020, but I never got to actually attend the (online) event because I'd had my appendix out less than 24 hours previous. So I have done a paper, but not, like, properly.

PDF available on ResearchGate and Academia.edu!

More on the historical sublime on this post.

(Also, if you see any Set animals in there, that's because I reckon the ancient Egyptian god Set is a highly appropriate deity for the historical sublime. He's all about chaos, disruption, storms, the desert, outsiders, the unknown - all sorts of fun that those who prefer order and certainty are reluctant to encounter. You heard it here first. Also you'll have different relevant deities/ entities depending on whichever systems you vibe with best.)

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