Translation and cosmopolitics. Tensions and deviations in the construction of the common

SESSION 3 | THE MOON AND THE EYE

Monday, 23 November

17h–20h (30-minute break at 18h30)

Colégio Almada Negreiros, Room SE1

READINGS

Merleau-Ponty, M. (2018). O olho e o espírito (10.ª ed.). Nova Vega. Trecho selecionado: “I” (pp. 13-17) e “III” (pp. 33-49).

Boyle, C. (2013). “Eyes of the Machine: The Role of Imaginative Processes in the Construction of Unseen Realities via Photographic Images”. In D. Rubenstein, J. Golding, & A. Fisher (Eds.), On the Verge of Photography: Imaging Beyond Representation. Article Press, pp. 211-236.

GUIDING QUESTIONS

How do imaging technologies reconfigure what can be seen, and by whom? How do they define the terrain of the real as something to be revealed rather than mediated — or, alternatively, where does observation end and translation begin? What role does imagination play in the construction of visual “facts”? Are astronomical images records of natural phenomena, or are they fabricated by the instruments that capture them?

About the Reading Group

Organisation: Constanza Solórzano, Laila Algaves Nuñez and Mariana Varela Câmara (IFILNOVA).

This study group investigates translation as a device for negotiating boundaries and as a world-making gesture, one that is decisive in the construction and sharing of aesthetic regimes, a multispecies democracy, and perhaps even the earthly surface itself. In each session, texts will be brought together that inspire a double movement: on the one hand, they open the discussion through key concepts related to this theme—such as hospitality, cosmopolitics, and the very definition of facts in scientific practice; on the other hand, they provisionally ground it in concrete situations in which translational practice becomes necessary: a socio-onto-legal conflict over the protection of caribou in Quebec, a fictional tale that stages the writing of an octopus, and the (once again highly relevant) images of the Moon.

Registration is available via this form.

Participation is free of charge, in person, and open to anyone interested in the topics under discussion. It’s not necessary to be a student or to have any affiliation with NOVA FCSH.

Although it’s possible to attend individual sessions, the aim is to bring together a consistent group throughout all three sessions, allowing the discussions to develop with greater continuity and depth over time.

All reading materials will be made available to registered participants via a shared Google Drive folder on 14 August, one month before the first session.

More information available in Portuguese.