Tagged / identity

FMC Research Seminar, 4pm, 12 Oct: Prof Geoffrey Samuel, University of Kent: ‘The Paradigm Case: Is Reasoning and Writing in Film Studies Comparable To (or With) Reasoning and Writing in Law?’

Faculty of Media and Communication

Research Seminar Series 2016-17

A Conflict, Rule of Law and Society

Research Seminar

 

Venue: F309, Fusion Building, Talbot Campus, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5BB 

 

Wednesday 12 October 2016 at 4pm

 

Conflict, Rule of Law and Society Welcomes:

 

Prof Geoffrey Samuel, University of Kent

 

The Paradigm Case: Is Reasoning and Writing in Film Studies Comparable To (or With) Reasoning and Writing in Law?

To what extent can theories or models that have been developed by literary and film theorists inform legal knowledge? Can any such literary and film models offer any serious insights to legal epistemology or are such ‘borrowings’ likely to remain at best rather superficial? The purpose of this contribution is to suggest that there are a number of theories – or at least models – that can prove quite fruitful for lawyers. Three, in particular, will be examined: namely personification theory, representation theory and reception theory. Personification theory is concerned with the notion of persona in cinema, theatre and literature and reflects, in particular, on the relevance of identity in films like Vertigo (1958) and Phoenix (2014). Persona, of course, is both a literary and a legal concept and so there is, however tenuous, a direct conceptual connection. Representation theory (see Bacon extract overleaf) has already had some impact on law – it can be seen as an aspect of fiction theory (see Vaihinger) – and this impact might be revived with the publication of a recent work by Professor Mathieu. Reception theory (see Dzialo overleaf) is more closely associated with hermeneutics which of course as a scheme of intelligibility has attracted much attention from jurists. Nevertheless the categories of text developed by Stagier have, perhaps, a particular reference for the jurist: what is the relationship between legal texts and their readers and does this relationship vary according to the nature of the text in question? One further point will be developed with respect to these theories or models mentioned. Perhaps labelling them as ‘theories’ or ‘methods’ is unhelpful; a more fruitful label might be one mentioned by Bouriau in his examination of Vaihinger’s ‘as if’ (comme si) fiction theory. It is not so much a theory; it is more of an ‘epistemological attitude’ (attitude épistémique).

 

Geoffrey Samuel Born in 1947 in England, Geoffrey Samuel is currently a Professor of Law at the University of Kent and a Professor affilié at the École de droit, Sciences Po, Paris. He received his legal education at the University of Cambridge and holds doctoral degrees from the Universities of Cambridge, Maastricht and Nancy 2 (honoris causa). He has also held many visiting posts in France, Belgium and Switzerland and is still a visiting professor in Rome (Tor Vergata), Fribourg and Aix-en-Provence. Geoffrey Samuel is the author of many books on contract, tort, remedies, legal reasoning and legal epistemology, the most recent being An Introduction to Comparative Law Theory and Method (Hart, 2014) and A Short Introduction to Judging and to Legal Reasoning (Edward Elgar, 2016). His areas of specialisation are the law of obligations, comparative law and legal reasoning.

 

All are welcome and we look forward to seeing you there!

 

About the series

This new seminar series showcases current research across different disciplines and approaches within the Faculty of Media and Communication at BU. The research seminars include invited speakers in the fields of journalism, politics, narrative studies, media, communication and marketing studies.  The aim is to celebrate the diversity of research across departments in the faculty and also generate dialogue and discussion between those areas of research.

 

Contributions include speakers on behalf of 

The Centre for Politics and Media Research

Promotional Cultures and Communication Centre

Centre for Public Relations Research and Professional Practice

Centre for the Study of Journalism, Culture and Community (JRG and NRG)

Centre for Intellectual Property Policy & Management

Conflict, Rule of Law and Society

EMERGE

Centre for Film and Television

 

 

 

New Publication by Bournemouth Professor Candida Yates: ‘The Play of Political Culture, Emotion and Identity’

BRIAN

Yates Politics book imag

Dear colleagues,

I am writing to let you know about the publication of my new book, The Play of Political Culture, Emotion and Identity.

Candida Yates, Professor of Culture and Communication, Bournemouth University

cyates@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

The Play of Political Culture, Emotion and Identity offers a new ‘psycho-cultural’ perspective on the psycho-dynamics of UK political culture and draws on psychoanalysis, cultural and media studies and political sociology to explore the cultural and emotional processes that shape our relationship to politics in the late modern, media age. Against a backdrop of promotional, celebrity culture and personality politics, the book uses the notion of ‘play’ as a metaphor to explore the flirtatious dynamics that are often present in the mediatised, interactive sphere of political culture and the discussion is elaborated upon by discussing different aspects of cultural and political identity, including, gender, class and nation. These themes are explored through selected case studies and examples, including the flirtation of Tony Blair, Joanna Lumley’s Gurkha campaign, Margaret Thatcher’s funeral, David Cameron’s identity as a father and the populist appeal of UKIP politician, Nigel Farage.

Table of contents

1. Introducing Emotion, Identity and the Play of Political Culture
2. Spinning the Unconscious and the Play of Flirtation in Political Culture
3. The Dilemmas of Post-Feminism and the Fantasies of Political Culture
4. Political Culture and the Desire for Emotional Wellbeing
5. The Absent Parent in Political Culture
6. Moving Forward to The Past: Fantasies of Nation Within UK Political Culture
7. Reflections on the Psycho-Cultural Dynamics of Political Culture

Further details can be found at Palgrave Macmillan: 

http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/the-play-of-political-culture–emotion-and-identity-candida-yates/?sf1=barcode&st1=9780230302525

Some reviews

‘Whether she is discussing the political manifestations of a contemporary crisis in masculinity and fatherhood, postmodern feminism, nostalgia, narcissism, play, or therapy culture, Yates’s psychoanalytic lens illuminates, in a nuanced fashion all too rare today, both regressive social trends toward mastery and progressive, creative potentials for change. This book is essential reading for anyone wishing to understand the complex interplay of fantasy, emotion, identity, media, and politics in the era of neoliberalism.’ – Lynne Layton, Harvard Medical School, USA

‘Exploring the entanglement of media, politics and emotions, this is a bold and original book that should be read by students and scholars in Sociology and Media Studies,and anyone with an interest in contemporary political life. It articulates a psycho-cultural perspective, moving with verve and insight from election politics to celebrity culture and from Russell Brand to poverty porn, offering a psychoanalytically informed reading of British political life and its structures of feeling. A satisfying and thought-provoking read.’ – Professor Rosalind Gill, Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis, City University London, UK

‘Through a psychoanalytic critique of the anxieties, fantasies and obsessions that characterise today’s intensely emotional political culture, Candida Yates’ new book makes a powerful case for the argument that Psychosocial Studies is the new Cultural Studies.’ – Sasha Roseneil, Professor of Sociology and Social Theory, Birkbeck, University of London, UK.

New EU research finds video games can be good for you

It appears that blasting aliens to smithereens, rescuing the princess for the 256th time or pretending you’re Lara Croft  may not be so bad after all. New research led by scientists at the University of Essex  in cooperation with colleagues in Germany and the United States, looked at why people find video games fun.

The study investigated the idea that many people enjoy playing videogames because it gives them the chance to ‘try on’ characteristics which they would like to have as their ideal self. ‘A game can be more fun when you get the chance to act and be like your ideal self,’ explains Dr Andy Przybylski, who led the study. ‘The attraction to playing videogames and what makes them fun is that it gives people the chance to think about a role they would ideally like to take and then get a chance to play that role.’ In addition, games like satta king fast can be a great way to unwind after a long week at work.

The research found that giving players the chance to adopt a new identity during a game and acting through that new identity – be it a different gender, hero, villain – made them feel better about themselves and less negative. In fact, the enjoyment element of the videogames seemed to be greater when there was the least overlap between someone’s actual self and their ideal self. The study involved hundreds of casual game players in the laboratory and studied nearly a thousand dedicated gamers who played everything from ‘The Sims’ and ‘Call of Duty’ to ‘pikakasinot‘. Players were asked how they felt after playing in relation to the attributes or characteristics of the persona they would ideally like to be.