Description—which is often taken to have little analytic or critical value and as such is rarely practiced—is at the core of phenomenological method. Why, and to what ends? And why—or so I argue—is at the core of phenomenological method. Why, and to what ends? And why—or so I argue—is it a vital practice when seeking to engage hospitably and innovatively within spaces and scenarios of the most challenging kind?  

In this talk (which will also have a practical element, so please bring an image of your choice—perhaps an image you are currently thinking or writing about) we will consider the critical and decolonising/self-decolonising force of description, and its capacities to open up previously disregarded terrain. Our key texts are a short text by the French phenomenologist Maurice Merleau-Ponty from 1954 called "On News Items" and an article by me titled "Interviewing Images: How visual research using IPA (Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis) can illuminate the change-making possibilities of place, space, and dwelling" (2020).

Jorella Andrews is Professor of Visual Cultures in the Department of Visual Cultures, Goldsmiths, University of London. In her research, writing and teaching, she examines the relations between philosophical inquiry, the image-world, and art practice. Her current focus is on the practical potential of aesthetics and image-based phenomenological research to intervene in key areas of contemporary concern such as the development of non-ego-centric approaches to personal and collective identity, the importance of self-directed, situated learning in academic and non-academic contexts, and the development of non-coercive approaches to change-making in personal and public life. These interests intersect with her long history of community-based activity, as an academic but also as a volunteer in the London borough of Lewisham where she lives and works. She is the author of several books and articles, including two monographs, The Question of Painting: Rethinking Thought with Merleau-Ponty and Showing Off! A Philosophy of Image (2018 and 2014, both Bloomsbury) and edits the Visual Cultures as… series (Sternberg Press/MIT).

Tune into the talk at this link.