NOS-HS Exploratory Workshops in
Olfactory Cultural Studies
Workshop 2, 15-17 April 2024, Copenhagen, Denmark
Call for papers and participation
With support from NordForsk, we are happy to announce a call for papers and participation in an exploratory three-day workshop in “olfactory cultural studies”. This is the second workshop in a series of three independent yet related workshops across different Nordic countries, with a general objective to develop and investigate methodologies to explore how olfactory phenomena are conceptualised and contribute to meaning-making. The final remaining workshop will be organised in Finland in 2025, with a call to be released in due course. This series of workshops centre on the significance of odours and the meanings ascribed to them, both in different physical environments and in media representations, thus complementing multisensory, multimodal cultural studies. Emphasis is laid on the role of olfactory phenomena in the construction of social and cultural identities. To address the olfactory cultural dynamics at stake, the workshops are guided by three main research questions:
a) How are different environmental odours made meaningful?
b) Howareolfactoryphenomenaconceptualisedandrepresentedinartandthemedia? c) How do olfactory phenomena participate in the construction of social and cultural
identities?
Workshop
The workshops are designed to combine ethnographic, experimental, and textual research. The Danish workshop is structured as follows (preliminary plans subject to change):
Day 1: Welcome and seminar session with participant paper presentation on the theme of “smell as knowledge-making”. Ethnographic exercise: “urban olfactowalk” to be conducted in a select environment and followed by methodological and theoretical reflection. Evening experimental exercise using specific examples of food products (e.g., wine, cheese) as the basis for a comparative examination of how specific odours can convey abstract non-nutritional knowledge such as terroir and production methods.
Day 2: Travel to off-site retreat. A seminar session with participants’ presentations on the theme of “technologies of art and mediation”, putting emphasis on how smell and smell concepts can be conveyed via different media (e.g., text, drawings, sound, performances, etc.), followed by methodological and theoretical reflection. Afternoon olfactowalk co-creation exercise.
Day 3: Ethnographic exercise: “spring-time olfactowalk”, to be conducted in a select environment and followed by methodological and theoretical reflection. Closing remarks and return to Copenhagen.
Submissions
We hereby cordially ask all interested individuals to submit a paper proposal of 2000-3000 words no later than 15 December 2023, via email to olfactory.cultures@gmail.com. The proposals form the basis for the seminar sessions and therefore should address its themes (“smell as knowledge-making” or “technologies of art and mediation”). The proposals should be in PDF format, appended with a one-page CV. While both single- and multi-author papers are welcome, only one presenting author can register for the workshop (a second presenting author is allowed on a case- by-case basis, if the authors can justify added value to the presentation).
Notifications of acceptance will be sent by 9 January 2024. There is a limited number of seats in the workshop, and all participants are required to take part in all exercises and sessions. If selection is required due to the number of proposals, priority will be given to those who i) reside in the Nordic region as defined by NordForsk, and ii) address the themes of the workshop. Participation in the workshop is limited to those with an accepted paper presentation.
Travel and accommodation
The physical location of the workshop is in central Copenhagen followed by a 1.5 day off-site retreat. During the retreat, the organisers will cover one-night accommodation, local transport and comestibles.
While there is no cost to register for the workshop, participants are expected to cover their own travel to Copenhagen plus accommodations in Copenhagen. We hope to be able to offer financial support in terms of hotel vouchers for a limited number of participants, with priority given to early career researchers who do not have access to institutional support.
For further information regarding the other workshops or any other related matter, please do not hesitate to contact the organisers at olfactory.cultures@gmail.com.
Organisers
PI Professor Antti-Ville Villén, University of the Arts Helsinki, Finland (Visiting Fellow, University of Cambridge, UK)
Associate Professor Qian Janice Wang, University of Copenhagen, Denmark Associate Professor Erik Cyrus Fooladi, Volda University College, Norway Professor Anu Hopia, University of Turku, Finland