SIG Leader: Marion Schmid, University of Edinburgh, UK
Intermediality – understood as both the theory and practice of the interrelationships between media – has a particularly pertinent role to play in the dissemination of Cultural Literacy. In our era of increased media convergence, the understanding of intermedial phenomena is instrumental in giving readability to the world that surrounds us with its hybridised cultural productions. Just as important, Intermediality as essentially a state of in-betweenness has considerable potential as a tool for care and healing in our troubled times. Its non-dual, non-essentialist nature chimes with the need in our divided societies to break down boundaries between self and Other, to embrace fluidity and hybridity as parts of our identities, and to give voice to anxieties with a view to overcoming them. This Special Interest Group led by Marion Schmid (Professor, University of Edinburgh) in conjunction with Dr Fabien Arribert-Narce (Senior Lecturer, UoE) and the writer, filmmaker and MSc Intermediality alumnus Evan Falls, is planning an ‘Intermediality and Care’ Festival at the University of Edinburgh as its launch event. The Festival will consist of workshops, a showcase of intermedial works (by both students and local practitioners), and a creative atelier. It will bring together researchers, students, practitioners, care professionals and the general public with the explicit aim to foster an understanding of Intermediality and to showcase its therapeutic and educational potential.