The Role of Images in the Construction of Collective Identities

NATALIA MAJLUF; LAURA MALOSETTI COSTA

Jinan

Congreso; 22nd. CISH Congress; 2015

International Committee of Historical Sciences

Political historiography has not paid enough attention to the role of images and visual artefacts in the construction of feelings of inclusion or exclusion from political processes and projects, as well as in the making of collective identities. From religious iconography to national symbols, the iconic portraits of political leaders and popular heroes, this roundtable proposes a close consideration of the ways in which images have contributed to sustain faith, political identifications and collective links. Issues such as the power of images and their material ways of existence and persistence, the circulation of caricatures and printed or virtual images are to be examined in the broadest temporal and geographical terms. Work with images demands a revision of old and new theoretical and methodological issues. Ambiguous and polysemic, visual sources further require instruments of analysis which can capture their specificity. The point of departure for this roundtable discussion will be a broad approximation to the Latin American revolutions, attempting to understand general issues regarding, among others, international circulation and the persistence of images over time.