CORDIS - Résultats de la recherche de l’UE
CORDIS

Cinematic Representations of the Grotesque Female Body

Final Report Summary - GROTESQUE BODY (Cinematic Representations of the Grotesque Female Body)

A German-language monograph on cinematic representations of the grotesque body has been published. The manuscript for an English-language edited volume on Carnal Aesthetics has been submitted to and accepted for publication by IB Tauris, London. Two book chapters have been published, four more are forthcoming. The edited volume on Carnal Aesthetics places the fellow's work in the context of ongoing scholarship on affect and perception, thus broadening the scope of her research on representations of the grotesque body by combining it with approaches to affect and sensory perception as they come to the fore in fields ranging from film studies, to visual culture studies and media studies. In addition, an English-language monograph on cinematic representations of the grotesque body has been accepted for publication by Continuum, New York. This book diverts from the German monograph as it adds a much-needed gender-sensitive deconstructive reading to the analysis of a selection of films focusing on new 'body technologies'. All of these publications add value to the research profile of the host institute. Both books in English will facilitate international recognition of the fellow by introducing her work to the wider scientific community.

Research results have been presented at four international conferences and symposia:
* Symposium Carnal Aesthetics: Transgressive Imagery and Feminist Politics, held at Utrecht University on 11 March 2011.
* Conference Intercultural Bodies - Intercultural Perspectives on Medial Representations of the Body, held at the University of Mainz, from 27 to 29 November 2010.
* Cosmetic Cultures Conference: Beauty, Globalization, Politics, held in Leeds, from 24 to 26 June 2009.
* 7th European Feminist Research Conference, held in Utrecht, from 4 to 7 June 2009.
In addition, o n various occasions research findings have been presented to colleagues at the Graduate Gender Programme as well as to the staff at the Department of Media and Culture Studies. Within different Utrecht degree programmes, the fellow delivered a total number of seven guest lectures on a range of topics emerging from her research.

The fellow initiated, designed and organized an international and interdisciplinary symposium on 'Carnal Aesthetics' in close collaboration with her colleague Dr. Marta Zarzycka at Utrecht University, supported by the Focus Area 'Cultures & Identities'. This symposium brought together a number of reknown scholars in the field of film studies and (visual) cultural studies to discuss various analyses of case studies coming from a range of contemporary visual practices. It has been successful in providing a fresh look at the meeting point between an ongoing debate on the politics of representation and an emerging scholarship on the politics of perception through the prismatic lens of feminist theory.

On the basis of her research, the fellow designed a highly acclaimed course syllabus on RMA/PhD-level and brought her research findings to bear on teaching of two BA/MA1 courses.