Step into the world of the history of spectacular science and the various forms of (un)conventional knowledge that circulated in the nineteenth century through performance and entertainment. Learn about the relation between performance, science, knowledge and its objects and media. Explore how various props such as the magic lantern, panoramas or human exhibitions shaped the public’s perception of science, and how eager audiences became acquainted with the ways in which venues and self-staging tactics were used to frame and communicate knowledge and scientific insights. Discover how art and performance can be analysed as major indicators of shifting ideas, new insights or changing discourses in the realm of science, and how they reflect the impact of new scientific knowledge, observations, and discoveries in cultural history.

This first edition of the Arts and Media Archaeology Summer School focuses on the connection between performance and media culture and the history of science, knowledge and ideas. In a five-day programme, it will deepen participants’ understanding of how performance played a crucial role in the circulation of science, knowledge and visual culture and helped shape modern Western culture. By also considering the interplay between present-day media performances and the archaeological traces they carry, the programme moreover aims to unearth often overlooked prehistories of so-called ‘new’ media. 

The Summer School is aimed at research MA and PhD students and more advanced scholars in the field of Arts, Performance, Media and Cultural History from the University of Antwerp and from other universities in Belgium and abroad. Find out more.

This Summer School is organized in the framework of Science at the Fair: Performing Knowledge and Technology in Western Europe, 1850-1914 (www.scifair.eu) a five-year research project coordinated by Nele Wynants, funded by the European Research Council (ERC).​

Organised by: Nele Wynants, in collaboration with Eva Andersen, Sarah J. Adams, Evelien Jonckheere & Elisa Seghers

Image: Friedländer, Anatomical cabinet 1913 © Collection Coolen family