University of East Anglia CJS-FTM Guest Seminar: Mediating Animals in Post-3/11 Documentaries

Christopher Hayes Announcement
Location
United Kingdom
Subject Fields
Asian History / Studies, East Asian History / Studies, Film and Film History, Japanese History / Studies, Environmental History / Studies

Dear colleagues,

Apologies for any cross-posting,

The Centre for Japanese Studies and the department of Film, Television & Media at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK, are pleased to invite you to a joint seminar, to be held on Wednesday 22nd May at 17:30 in 01.21 Lawrence Stenhouse Building, on the UEA campus.

We are delighted to be hosting Professor Hideaki Fujiki of Nagoya University, who will be giving the talk Mediating Animals in Post-3/11 Documentaries

Abstract:

This talk discusses documentary films about the aftermath of the 11th March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident, and shows how some of these films de-naturalize the Anthropocene, in contrast to a dominant tendency in media to naturalize and re-naturalize it. More specifically, taking two documentaries as case studies with particular attention paid to the ways they present and represent place, landscape and animals, I delineate their different modes of mediation: anthropocentric and ecological. I argue that whereas anthropocentric mediation tends to reduce the existence of animals either to a tool for human epistemology or agency as hostile to humans, ecological mediation in turn illuminates a human recognition of animals as belonging to an ontological place shared by both humans and nonhumans.

 

All are very welcome to attend this seminar. Talks typically last around one hour and are followed by a Q&A and informal discussion over refreshments. There is no need to register, so come along. To stay up to date with CJS events, follow us on Twitter @CJS_Uea or join our mailing list by contacting us at cjs@uea.ac.uk 

Contact Email
cjs@uea.ac.uk