Public Forum - Vision and Opticality: The Humanities and Neuroscience

The ARC Centre of Excellence for the History of Emotions (Europe 1100–1800) is delighted to be partnering up with the Queensland Brain Institute, UQ, and the University of Queensland Art Museum on a Public Forum which explores themes of vision and opticality, from the late nineteenth century to the present.

Vision and Opticality: The Humanities and Neuroscience

The Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘vision’ as ‘the faculty or state of being able to see’, and ‘opticality’ as a ‘visual quality or effect, especially in relation to art’. This cross-disciplinary Public Forum and Continuing Professional Development Seminar explores the concepts of ‘vision’ and ‘opticality’ to reanimate the conversation between the divided realms of the humanities and science. Scientists, artists and humanities scholars from across the disciplines of neurophysics, psychology, art history and literary studies will draw on examples from their current research to illustrate some of the different ways of representing and understanding the world, different approaches to vision and truth, and different patterns of animal vision, navigation and creativity to encourage a potential change in how we view the humanities and science. Twenty-minute presentations will address the following themes: new photographic approaches that illuminate the fragility of natural biological systems; the relationship between nineteenth-century Indian photography and British colonial science; the psychology of vision and how patients with mental health issues represent the world around them; navigating space and the insect compound eye; poetry and insect vision; and ocular experiences of humans and insects across different imaging technologies. Continuing Professional Development certificates of participation will be available for teachers.

Speakers include: Dr Trish Adams (Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology); Xanthe Ashburner (The University of Queensland); Sushma Griffin (The University of Queensland); Professor John McGrath (Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland); Professor Anne Noble (Whiti o Rehua School of Art, Massey University) and Professor Srini Srinivasan (Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland).
 
Date: Saturday 17 March 2018
Venue: University of Queensland Art Museum, Gallery D, University Drive, St. Lucia Campus, Queensland 4072.
Timing: Registration and Coffee: 9:30am—10:00am. Presentations: 10:00am—1:30pm Morning Tea: 11:30am—12:00pm
RSVP: Free. All welcome.

Contact: Xanthe Ashburner
Education and Outrieach Officer,
ARC Centre for the History of Emotions
Email

Please RSVP by 15 March

Image: Anne Noble, Dead Bee Portrait # 14, 2016, No Vertical Song and Reverie, Bundanon Trust Collection.