The concept of the imaginal realm, developed in eastern Islamic philosophy, can enrich the imagination of cinema studies. This talk presents the concept of the imaginal realm, from Persian philosopher Sadr al-Din Muhammad Shirazi (1571-1640). This radically pro-image philosophy emphasizes the reality of imagined images, the world as process, intensification, and singularity. It aligns with the cinematic thought of scholars such as Siegfried Kracauer, André Bazin, and Gilles Deleuze in arguing that collective imagination can have real effects.

Laura U. Marks is a pioneering American and Canadian media theorist, artist, and professor at Simon Fraser University. Her books include: 

• Hanan al-Cinema: Affections for the Moving Image (Forthcoming 2015, MIT Press)
• Enfoldment and Infinity: An Islamic Genealogy of New Media Art (MIT Press, 2010)
• Touch: Sensuous Theory and Multisensory Media (University of Minnesota Press, 2002)
• The Skin of the Film: Intercultural Cinema, Embodiment, and the Senses, (Duke University Press, 2000)

The event is free of entrance and open to all. 

The event is organized by: 

•  Camera as Cultural Critique, Department of Anthropology
•  Visual Wednesdays, Eye & Mind MA programme in Visual Anthropology
•  Arab and Islamic Studies, School of Culture and Society
•  The Department of Aesthetics and Communication, Aarhus University

 Further info: https://www.facebook.com/visualwednesdays