The College of Arts and Sciences is proud to feature Professor Michael Allan, who will deliver, “Sovereign Images? Envisioning Statecraft in Early Cinema” as part of the CAS Interdisciplinary Research Talks series. The lecture will take place on

Thursday, April 29, 3:30-5:00 via Zoom.

In July 1896, the Lumière Brothers’ film company commissioned Alexandre Promio to travel the world with the newly invented cinematograph. Many of his short films are renowned for their depiction of everyday scenes—streets of Cairo, the Jaffa Gate in Jerusalem, or parks in London. And yet, a number of others depict heads of state—monarchs, presidents, and prime ministers in Algeria, England, Sweden, and Tunisia. Often seen as a global repertoire of early cinema, how might these early films consolidate fantasies of sovereign state power? At issue is not only their role in the visual imagination of statecraft, but their participation in a globalized media network trafficking images across the world. What is the role of a foreign camera operator in the service of national sovereignty? Who commands the image of the head of state? What does it mean to see the sovereign cinematically? Looking anew at these early films reveals the critical possibilities connecting aesthetics and politics, global media and nation states—with the emergence of world cinema.

Click here for information and Zoom link.

CAS IR Talks are 35-40 minutes in length, followed by a Q&A.