Centre for Screen Cultures

Description

The Centre for Screen Cultures explores various mediums including television, computers, tablets, smartphones, video games, and virtual reality. It investigates their historical and current impact on society, culture, politics, and art. The centre's work extends beyond onscreen content, examining the entire process from idea to audience, including production, distribution, and exhibition. An invitation is extended to academics, practitioners, and the public for interdisciplinary exploration and participation.

For the three years from 2020 to 2023, the Centre will focus on the intersection of sound and moving images. Sound has traditionally been secondary to the image in Screen Studies, but it has always been a dynamic area of innovation and creativity. The study of sound and moving images has evolved into a significant area of research, intersecting with diverse disciplines such as performance, music, geography, and physics.

During this period, the Centre will organise events to investigate sound's relationship to moving images, bringing together scholars, artists and practitioners. It aims to maintain a diverse and global perspective, promoting lesser-heard sound communities and facilitating dialogue between different practices.

The first year, "Mediating Voice", is influenced by the work of scholars who have significantly contributed to the understanding and theorising of the voice in film and media studies. The Centre hosted two events related to recent documentaries, "Yours in Sisterhood" (2018) and "Expedition Content" (2020), focusing on the role of voice, listening, and silence in these works. The second year, "Space and Environment", will examine the connections between sound design in audio-visual media and acoustic ecology from various perspectives including sonic arts, anthropology, aural history, and geography. The focus will be on films that utilise field recordings and how cinematic depictions of the environment can challenge traditional anthropocentrism in cinema.

The final year, "Sounding Bodies", will concentrate on the role of the body in sound production and experience. It will examine the production and design of sound as a material process and explore the embodied experiences involved in recording, editing and archiving sound. Particular attention will be paid to the intersection of the body and sound, focusing on issues of race and disability.

The Playlist Initiative, developed during lockdown, aims to manage the wealth of media materials available, particularly with digital archives, streaming platforms, and online film festivals. The initiative provides a platform for diverse perspectives and voices and serves as a resource for teaching and research.

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No, this infrastructure does not provide funding.

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University of St Andrews
St Andrews