Presentation

This workshop plays on the semantic ambiguity of the ancient Greek word pharmakon, which variously meant ‘poison’, ‘remedy’, or ‘colour’.
Through thecomparison of historically and culturally diverse case studies, we will explore howdifferent techniques, materials and practices of colouring – such as found in food andtextile industries, artworks, light projection apparatus, and built environments – havebeen ascribed with powers to promote health or to cause harm, while at the same
time considering how colour media are themselves embedded in ecologically destructive and toxic modes of production and consumption, and ultimately, to imagine more sustainable alternatives.

Bringing together hitherto disconnected research (on the one hand, studies of the materiality of colour production and its environmental impact; on the other hand, research on the application of colour in institutional and domestic settings) we aim to generate new insights and critical discussion regarding the ‘power of colour’ in its varied material, embodied, psychological, and environmental dimensions, thereby challenging key assumptions that have guided existing research on the history of colour industries and colour based practices and their impact on human minds and bodies, and on both built and natural environments.

Our comparative analysis will contribute to the existing scholarly literature within the domain of colour studies, while also identifying new research avenues in multiple interdisciplinary arenas, including those of material culture studies, environmental humanities, media studies, sensory studies, and histories of medicine and of other public institutions and professional knowledges.

Program

9:30 am - 10:00 am: Welcome Coffee
10:00 am - 10:30 am: Opening Comments
Jeremy Stolow (Concordia University/Institut d’études avancées de Paris)
Charlotte Ribeyrol (19th C British Literature, Sorbonne)
Arnaud Dubois (CNRS: Éco-anthropologie, musée de l’Homme)

Session 1
10:30 - 10:50 am: “Feeling blue: Colour and the modern British hospital.”
Victoria Bates (History, University of Bristol)
10:50 am- 11:10 am: “The Colour Cure: Chromatic Healing between Sense and
Sensationalism, c. 1870-1919.”
Kay Simpson (History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge)
11:10 am - 11:30 am: Discussion (Moderated by Jeremy Stolow)
11:30 am - 12:00 pm: Break

Session 2
12:00 pm - 12:20 pm: “Poison or panacea? Medical debates over the toxicity of arsenic
and William Morris's arsenical Wallpapers.”
Amélie Bonney (English Studies, Université de Rouen)
12:20 pm- 12:40 pm: “Sharing knowledge on toxicity: About an odd Victorian
scientific conversation."
Judith Rainhorn (Histoire des mondes modernes, Panthéon Sorbonne – Paris 1)
12:40 pm - 1:00 pm: Discussion (Moderated by Charlotte Ribeyrol)

1:00 - 2:30: Lunch Break

Session 3
2:30 pm - 2:50 pm: “Art and Chromotherapy in Fin-de-Siècle France.”
Alessandra Ronetti (Université Sorbonne Nouvelle – Paris 3)
2:50 pm - 3:10 pm: “Feeling Colour. Mood, Atmosphere, and Coloured Light."
Bregt Lameris (Digital Culture, Innovation & Communication, Open University, The Netherlands)
3:10 pm - 3:30 pm: Discussion (Moderated by Arnaud Dubois)
3:30 pm - 4:00 pm: Break

Session 4
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm: Round Table Discussion (Moderated by Jeremy Stolow)
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm : Closing Reception

Terms of participation

The workshop is closed to the public. For any requests to participate or for information about the event or the subject, please contact Jeremy Stolow by email: jeremy.stolow@concordia.ca