Interdisciplinary Symposium | SCENT AND IMAGINATION
CRASSH, University of Cambridge (UK)
June 4th, 2025
Call for Papers
Convenors: Chloé Guillaume, Sofia Livi, Giorgia M. Maffioli-Brigatti
We are pleased to announce the call for papers for the interdisciplinary symposium Scent and Imagination, which will be held on June 4th, 2025, at CRASSH (Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities), University of Cambridge, UK.
Event description
This symposium seeks to explore the dynamic interplay between olfactory heritage and imagination. Focusing on how smells shape and are shaped by cultural practices, values, and imaginative processes and building on recent research (e.g., Bembibre & Strlič, 2022), we aim to understand the material, cultural, and symbolic dimensions of smells. We want to explore how belonging to a certain olfactory culture shapes imaginative practices and – vice versa – how imagination can be a resource for accessing unavailable smells or understanding different olfactory sensibilities. Smells, in our understanding, include complex layers of material, cultural and symbolic meanings. Similarly, perceptual activity is influenced by cultural frameworks, which may be embodied in shared habits and traditions. In this sense, olfactory heritages are culturally constructed both in their symbolic dimension and in their concrete experience. We define olfactory heritages as social and cultural attributes of smells, which imply a material and physical encounter. Throughout the symposium, olfactory heritages are analysed in their intricate relationship with imagination, broadly defined as the power of the mind to represent possibilities and the faculty of creating a framework to understand the human sensory experience.
Confirmed keynote speakers are:
● Dr. William Tullett (University of York, UK) - William Tullett is a Senior Lecturer in Early Modern History at the University of York and pursues research and teaching in three broad fields: sensory, embodied, and environmental history. His interests include smell history and heritage, the materialisation and embodiment of gender, histories of medicine and science, and histories of pollution and environmental degradation. He helped to lead the major EU Horizon 2020 funded ‘Odeuropa’ project and has recently co-led the Royal Society Edinburgh funded project ’The Smell of Scotland’. William has published two books on the history of smell (Smell in Eighteenth-Century England with Oxford University Press and Smell and the Past with Bloomsbury) and is currently writing a major history of smell for a wider audience to be published by Yale University Press.
● Dr. Sussan Babaie (Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London, UK) - Sussan Babaie is Professor in the Arts of Iran and Islam at the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London. She is a specialist of the arts and architecture of the early modern Safavid period, with topics on urbanism and empire studies, on sexuality and social habits of ‘seeing’, and on transcultural visuality and notions of exoticism. Most recently, she has been working on Food/Art and the link between taste and seeing. Sussan is currently the lead scholar on Mongol Connections, a Getty Connecting Art Histories Project (2024-2027), and is co-curating with Shane McCausland (SOAS) an exhibition on the art of The Great Mongol State for the Royal Academy of Art, London (scheduled for Spring 2027).
The event is intended to diversify approaches to the above questions and consider new methodologies. Therefore, together with the academic paper presentations, the afternoon will also host practical and artistic workshops (which will also be open to a wider audience). The investigation of the material nature of olfactory heritages will offer reflections on practical activities of recreating scents from the past. Furthermore, to explore imagination in the perception of odours, the symposium will include a performance by artist Lena Trost, Glass Tasting. The interactive performance will address how the manipulation of attention and imagination influences how smells are perceived.
Research questions
We welcome contributions addressing (but not limited to) the following:
Olfactory Heritage and Culture:
● How do olfactory heritages reflect and sustain cultural values?
● What role do smells play in fostering belonging or exclusion within social groups? (e.g., olfactory racism).
Imagination and Sensory Perception:
● How does imagination shape the way we perceive odours?
● What limits, such as language or cognition, restrict our olfactory imagination? Environmental Concerns and Inequality:
● How do environmental inequalities influence olfactory sensitivities?
● How is olfactory heritage connected to spatial belonging and environmental awareness?
Museological and Historical Practices:
● How can we engage with and study odours from the past?
● Can incorporating olfactory dimensions into museums enhance accessibility for visitors with sensory impairments?
Key dates:
● February 20th, 2025: Deadline for abstract submission.
● End of February 2025: Notification of acceptance.
Abstract Submission Guidelines;
● Abstract of max: 500 words (including references).
● Format: PDF, anonymized for blind review.
● Content: Title and five keywords.
● Language: English.
● Attach the abstract to an email containing your name, pronouns, educational background, and institutional affiliation as a short 300 words biography.
Additional Information
● Financial Support: While we regretfully cannot offer financial assistance for travel or accommodation, there are no registration fees for speakers. Accepted participants will be offered refreshments during the day.
● Accessibility: We are committed to making the event accessible. Please contact the organizers to discuss specific needs.
Submissions and Contact
Please send your abstract and enquiries to scentandimagination@gmail.com. We will be happy to help. For updates, visit the symposium’s website, or follow CRASSH's social media profiles on x, Instagram, Facebook.
Contributions addressing the research questions above from a variety of methodological approaches will be welcomed. We especially encourage submissions from early career researchers and members of underrepresented groups.
We look forward to reading your submissions!