Genealogies of Spectacle and Counter-Spectacle

Dear Colleagues, 

The concept of spectacle is closely associated with the work of Debord and diagnoses of strategies of image-saturated late capitalism, yet spectacle and the strategic function of images in regimes of power is not in itself a new phenomenon. This Special Issue is dedicated to genealogizing and historicizing the concept of spectacle, to take into account, for example, the long history of iconography, the functional role of images in the development of the power of the Church and of monarchy in Europe, as well as the transformations which strategies of spectacle underwent with the birth of the modern era, consequent to the birth of disciplinary power and biopolitics; the way, for example, that the spectacle of public execution ‘disappeared’ consequent to the birth of disciplinary power, and the political rationalities which underpinned that dramatic transformation in the order of power in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. 

This Special Issue also invites papers which address the concept of counter-spectacle and the human capacity to deploy images in resistance to governing regimes of power. Regardless of how spectacle is thought to function in control of the imaginations of populations, today as in the past, it is a reality of the life of images that they cannot be controlled. Regardless of the many technological mediums that are used today to store and send images digitally, it is human beings who are not just the primary home of the life of images, but perpetual sources for their transformation. How do contemporary image cultures reflect counter-spectacle and how can we approach such phenomena of counter-spectacle genealogically? 

We invite contributions from all possible fields of knowledge and practice. 

Topics of interest include but are by means limited to: 

• Iconography
• Iconoclasm
• Imagination
• The Baroque
• Capital
• Modernity
• Publicity
• Biopolitics
• Disciplinary power
• Neoliberalism

Prof. Dr. Julian Reid
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Genealogy is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• Iconography 
• Iconoclasm 
• Imagination 
• The Baroque 
• Capital 
• Modernity 
• Publicity 
• Biopolitics 
• Disciplinary power 
• Neoliberalism