In the spotlight
 

Bilderdijkkamer (Rick Honings)

FEATHERS - ERC project (Nadine Akkerman)

Objecten Assyriologie (Willemijn Waal)

Modernist Materiality (Carmen Van den Bergh & Annelies Schulte-Nordholt)

Bewegende culturen (Carmen Van den Bergh)

Cuerpos ilegales (Nanne TImmer)

Geluksboeken (Esther Op de Beek)

Counter Voices (Mirjam de Bruijn)

Moscow Conceptualism (Dorine Schellens)

Manipulative Food Branding (Kasia Cwiertka)

Cultures on the move (Susanna de Beer)

The Tableau Vivant  (Stijn Bussels)

Narrating Europe (Astrid Van Weyenberg)

Hiphop histories of the oppressed (Aafje de Roest)

Leven met de stad (Paul van Trigt)

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Cultural objects, figures and narratives from a transnational viewpoint 

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# 5 Key Terms:
transdisciplinary approaches, alternative archives, digital storytelling, materiality, inclusivity

 

Cultural historiography consists of a series of stories that are told from different points of view, colored by a national, institutional or a subjective focus. What happens when we highlight the lesser-known aspects of our histories on the basis of alternative perspectives, considering minor and popular genres and practices, starting from underexposed objects, key figures and (counter) narratives? 

 

We are literary and art historians, book scholars, hip-hop and popular culture specialists, classicists, museologists, cultural analysts looking for a hidden treasure in the archive or a new angle through which we can rewrite the past, analyze the present and think about the future, all from an interdisciplinary and, above all, transnational point of view. We divide our research topics into three research themes:

 

(1) Hidden objects
(2) Hidden figures
(3) Hidden narratives

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(1) In the first thematic cluster we focus on objects and texts that fall outside the traditional canon or institutionalized forms of capital. Literary scholars, for example, look at phenomena that fall "outside the book": Literary culture can be found in pamphlets, on walls, on the radio or in magazines or school books. These cultural objects can be analyzed from an aesthetic, as well as from a socio-cultural point of view. The historical context in which, and the medium through which, a cultural object emerges and circulates is relevant to have a broader understanding of it. A poem can be conveyed on a wall, in a glossy magazine or aired through radio broadcast. Material culture is omnipresent, inside or outside the text. But also vice versa, objects can tell us and cherish different stories. Therefore we might want to focus also on concrete objects and places, such as streets and squares in cities and the memories they contain. And we can investigate how real-life objects, such as a typewriter, a strand of hair or the pipe of an artist, are able to contain many (hi)stories and shed a new (transnational) perspective on the present day. 

 

Examples:

• Cultural objects and places (cfr. Amsterdam Town hall, Bilderdijk kamer, Casa Luigi Pirandello, Virtual City Tour James Joyce and Italo Svevo, Leiden Wall Poems, …)

• Objects that tell different stories (cfr. Fake objects, Transcultural objects, Cultural translations, Bewegende culturen …

• Taboo objects and networks of art collectors: Books made of human skin “Anthropodermic bibliopegy”, Prostitution 1850-1900, Ready-mades...

• Partners: Things that talk, Media Lab, ECOLe, …

 

(2) When we talk about hidden figures, we think of all the mediators that have been neglected so far: from translators, to publishers, readers, critics in the literary field, but also creatives such as artists, photographers, filmmakers and curators or sellers, buyers, diplomats, spies, whistleblowers and members of numerous underground networks. 

 

Hidden mediators can be essential key figures for dissemination and notification of (the above-mentioned) cultural objects (and for the knowledge that these objects construct), but they rarely take a pioneering role. Within these minorities, women and youngsters are often administered a marginalized position, or is this just a perception?

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Examples:

Spies, Secretaries, Translators, Diplomats, Underground “secret” networks, Voices from below, rappers and hip-hop artists,...

 

e.g. in classical antiquity the role of commentators or scholars for the reception of 'important' texts happened anonymously, in the form of scholia.

 

(3) In the third and last thematic cluster we will zoom in on the hidden message and the alternative stories that can be read between the lines or from new (interdisciplinary, international) perspectives. Which different narratives can we identify starting from a single cultural object and how can we uncover them? 

 

For example, archival documents, old and new, can be held up to a new light and be read against the grain, but also an artifact can have different meanings and functions according to who is using it. The danger of a single story is that unilateral perspectives can lead, unconsciously, to default conclusions and assumptions. Also, reading narratives from a different cultural angle or a new method, adds nuance and broadens our view, allowing future perspectives to be projected.

 

counter archives

colonial perspectives

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Hidden histories offer important insights for the specific field in which each single researcher operates, but it will also stimulate a more interdisciplinary collaboration. Within this research cluster we are going to deviate from the traditional research paths in order to look 'differently' at hidden objects, figures and narratives. Coloring both inside and outside the lines of our field, in collaboration with colleagues from adjacent disciplines, is a first important step towards innovation. 

Also for collaboration and innovation in education, it is becoming increasingly important to be able to collaborate interdisciplinary with other lecturers. This kind of collaborative research can lead to a new minor program or a new core subject that can be taught jointly at both university level as undergrad level (offered as didactic learning material). It opens up opportunities to share expertise and enter each other's curricula, if desired. 

At a societal level it is important to look at recent and less recent histories, from an alternative point of view. A black-and-white approach is rarely deep enough and the risks of a biased view to the facts is a real danger. It is important to be able to exchange opinions, and uncover lesser known works (hidden objects), mediators (hidden figures) and messages (hidden narratives) to dig up (semi) forgotten cultural heritage and give it its deserved light again. 

 

Members in & out of LUCAS that showed interest and want to be involved, are:

• Fresco Sam-Sin (Things that Talk)

• Federica Notari (Media Lab)

• MA Aafje de Roest (Nederlands)

• Prof. Rick Honings (Nederlands)

• Prof. Mirjam de Bruijn (Geschiedenis en Antropologie - Afrikaans). 

• Prof. Kasia Cwiertka (Japans)

• Prof. Stijn Bussels (Kunstgeschiedenis)

• Prof. Maarten Kossman (Berber Studies)

• Prof. Ariadne Schmidt (Geschiedenis) 

• Prof. Pieter ter Keurs (Musea, Collecties en Samenleving)

• Dr. Dorine Schellens (Duits)

• Dr. Esther Op de Beek (Nederlands)

• Dr. Nanne Timmer (LAS)

• Dr. Astrid van Weyenberg (Literatuurwetenschap)

• Dr. Annelies Schulte Nordholt (Frans)

• Dr. Yasco Horsman (Literatuurwetenschap)

• Dr. Willemijn Waal (Oude Nabije Oosten-studies, NINO)

• Dr. Nadine Akkerman (Early modern British Literature)

• Dr. Kamila Krakowska Rodrigues (International Studies)

• Dr. Christoph Pieper (GLTC/Classics)

• Dr. Adriana Churampi (LAS)

• Dr. Bram Caers (Nederlands)

• Dr. A.R. Dencher (geschiedenis)

• Dr. Carmen Van den Bergh (Italiaans)

 

Some projects on similar themes:

Bilderdijkkamer (Rick Honings)

FEATHERS - ERC project (Nadine Akkerman)

Objecten Assyriologie (Willemijn Waal)

Modernist Materiality (Annelies Schulte-Nordholt)

Bewegende culturen (Carmen Van den Bergh)

Cuerpos ilegales (Nanne TImmer)

Geluksboeken (Esther Op de Beek)

Counter Voices (Mirjam de Bruijn)

Moscow Conceptualism (Dorine Schellens)

Manipulative Food Branding (Kasia Cwiertka)

Cultures on the move (Susanna de Beer)

The Tableau Vivant  (Stijn Bussels)

Narrating Europe (Astrid Van Weyenberg)

Hiphop histories of the oppressed (Aafje de Roest)

Leven met de stad (Paul van Trigt)

 

As far as the output is concerned, we are planning to have in any case a series of lectures for a wide audience and/or a nice accessible book, as well as a number of workshops and internal meetings. We are also going to work with the Things that Talk foundation on a fun exhibition.

 

Possible Research and teaching grants and other activities

Museums, Collections & Society - Leiden University (universiteitleiden.nl)

JPI CH call Cultural Heritage, Society and Ethics | NWO

NWA Science Communication | NWO

Home - Mondriaan Fonds

Aanvragen (cultuurfonds.nl)

Lecture series within Studium Generale - Universiteit Leiden

 

 

We see the LUCAS research environment as a place and space for collaboration, innovation and connection: between scholars, disciplines, society and technology.

Often we are glued to our own discipline; and it is true that we do important research to improve the field. But often we are walking side by side, doing similar research, perhaps using a similar method, or looking at the same matter from a different angle. What would happen if we started working as a team? The transnational and interdisciplinary approach is ensured by the different specializations the members of the group have. They come from very different fields, such as literary theory to art history, from language-specific culture studies to media studies.

 

From the strategic plan:

Pioneering interdisciplinary research and teaching

We will maintain the high standard of our individual disciplines, and from this firm basis will inspire more interdisciplinary collaboration. We will ensure there is also space for independent and fundamental research within our interdisciplinary research.

More value through strategic collaboration
Collaboration is essential for improving the quality of research and teaching, generating meaningful societal impact, attracting funding and raising our profile. We will intensify our participation in regional ecosystems, expand our activities in The Hague and strengthen our network in Leiden.