A term developed by John Tresh and Bruno Latour, amongst others, cosmograms are representations of worlds and their various orders and internal coherences. They are, in some cases, millennia-old meaning-making dispositives that emphasize synthetic connection rather than analytical distinction, holism rather than specialisation, the bigger picture rather than the distinct part. Although they exist in iconographic, architectural and performative forms, this lecture will focus on narrative cosmograms. Drawing on analyses of major works of speculative fiction such as Always Coming Home (1985) by Ursula K. LeGuin and The Age of Wire and String (1995) by Ben Marcus, we will discuss various literary strategies of narrative worlding.
About the speaker
Sébastien Hendrickx is a performing artist, dramaturge and art critic. He initiated a campaign on democratic innovation in times of environmental breakdown, www.leparlementcitoyen.be, as well as the Degrowth Propaganda Squad, a group of academics, activists and artists developing campaign strategies to mainstream postgrowth policies. After his debut performance The Good Life (2021), he is working on the storytelling piece Moddertong (2022-...). His artistic research Cosmograms Beyond the Capitalocene is supported by KASK/School of Arts (2022-2024), where he teaches at the drama department.
Practical
The CLEA seminars are taking place simultaneously at the VUB campus and online (via Zoom) and are open to everyone interested!
When. Friday October 13, 2023 from 15:00 until 17:00 h
Where. VUB campus Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Elsene. Building I, room I.1.01
Online. You can follow the seminar online via Zoom. You may need a Meeting ID and passcode to enter.
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/82757798426?pwd=em9sQlJDVjJYTEFRNk01dEJLWGxGUT09
Meeting ID: 827 5779 8426
Passcode: 122127
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