Guest Talk: Jakub Stejskal

Masaryk University

Style and Art-Historical Empiricism

Wednesday, December 13, 9-11 am

Pictorial styles should be understood as image formats, and their character as image formats makes them attractive as a subject of study for what I label 'art-historical empiricism'. Art-historical empiricism is the assumption that one can learn from one's own sense experience about what responses artefacts (in our case images) from remote cultures or times generated in their original context.

In theory, scholars tend to be skeptical of the assumption, yet many often endorse the possibility in practice, since it is difficult on a practical level to talk about the efficacy of culturally remote images without assuming that some of it can be mediated by the images themselves. Precisely because art-historical empiricism is often only tacitly present in scholarly discourse, it should be brought out in the open so that its viability can be assessed.

Important: Zoom link and draft paper available to workshop participants by e-mail. If you have not received the material, please write us ASAP: vsirb001@ucr.edu

Guest Talk: Matteo Vagelli

Universtà Ca’ Foscari Venezia

Styles of Science and the Pluralist Turn:

Between Inclusion and Exclusion

Tuesday, Nov. 28, 9-11 am

Abstract: This paper aims to map out the links between style and science. Two moments mark the migration of style from the discursive field of the arts to that of the history and philosophy of science: the first occurred in the German-speaking world during the first decades of the twentieth century; the second appeared in an Anglo-American context between the late 1970s and the early 1990s, when the category of style became involved in the so-called “pluralist turn” in the history and philosophy of science. Taking this framework as its point of departure, the paper uncovers neglected contributions to the epistemology of style in order to foreground the concept of style as both a vector of inclusion (highlighting the plurality, historicity, and locality of scientific ways of knowing) and of exclusion (by generalizing the most correct ways of doing science and side-lining alternative ways of knowing).

Important: Zoom link and draft paper available to workshop participants by e-mail. If you have not received the material, please write us ASAP: vsirb001@ucr.edu

Why Style? Why not?

Style is a multifaceted term and concept. It goes back to the Latin stilus (“stylus”), which refers to a writing tool with two ends. Thus, style starts out as a powerful metaphor that is first employed in classical rhetoric and links the changing ways of discourse to the ever-more varied natures of humankind. Already in medieval Latin, the concept’s scope gets extended beyond rhetoric to include notions of mode, custom, and convention, forms of human behavior in the widest sense, from fashion to lifestyle to cultural technologies of all kinds. An important addition to the concept occurred during the Renaissance and again over the course of the 18th century, when the arts were made explicit objects within the purview of style.

As a result, they came to be seen as instances of overarching cultural productivity that, in their stylistic properties, expressed the individuality and identity-forming practices of the places and people from which they stemmed. Consequently, the style was launched as an index of a work’s historical-cultural environment, and it has since been refined and reworked as a tool of historical-cultural analysis to this day.

Objectives

Scientific and Epistemological Inquiry:

The project engages in scientific and epistemological inquiry, drawing insights from philosophers of science (Heinrich Wölfflin, Ludwig Fleck, Thomas Kuhn, and Ian Hacking, among others) to understand how style influences both the process and outcomes of academic and scientific investigations.

Historical and Conceptual Exploration:

This project discusses the rich historical and conceptual evolution of "style", tracing its journey from a classical rhetorical tool to a multidimensional analytical lens applied across the arts, humanities, and sciences.

This exploration also aims to unveil the myriad ways style reflects and shapes cultural, individual, and collective identities across time and disciplines.

Interdisciplinary Dialogue and Collaboration:

We are aiming to build a vibrant interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration among scholars from diverse fields, including literary studies, visual arts, literary studies, music, scientific methodologies, and mathematical epistemologies.

This collaboration seeks to establish bridges between traditionally siloed academic domains, encouraging a holistic examination of style's multifaceted impact.

International Networking and Community Engagement:

By participating in our interdisciplinary symposia, you become part of a dynamic platform poised for vibrant scholarly exchange and public engagement. Together, let's explore how cultural and scientific knowledge intertwine with the concept of style. Reach out, share your insights, and let’s exchange thoughts to collectively unravel the multifaceted essence of style across disciplines.

This workshop has been developed under the patronage of the Center for Ideas and Society at UC Riverside, and the departments of Philosophy, Art History, and Comparative Literature.

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