Visual (data) observation in International Relations: Attentiveness, close description, and the politics of seeing differently

IF 3.2 1区 社会学 Q1 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Jonathan Luke Austin, Isabel Bramsen
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Abstract Has Visual International Relations (IR) become too distant from the content of visual artefacts? This is a paradoxical question. Visual IR is a vibrant and pluralist field exploring visuals in innumerable ways. Nonetheless, the field tends to focus on ‘deep’ readings of the socio-political implications of visual artefacts at the expense of a close and attentive observation and description of the events, situations, or phenomena they may depict. Simply put, visual IR usually analyses visuals-as-visuals rather than seeing them as entry points for studying the social world. But might a video of torture teach us something about the practicality of torture? Might a video of peace negotiations teach us something about their successes or failures? Can we gain a fleeting glimpse of ‘reality’ within visuals? We address these questions by first situating our focus on close ‘visual (data) observation’ in conceptual conversation with the literature’s existing focus on deep interpretation. Second, we outline three approaches to visual observation as they are deployed outside IR. Third, we unpack how those approaches might be of value for IR, especially vis-à-vis the study of practice, materiality, and discourse. Finally, we conclude by asking if visual data observation can retain critical political potentiality.
国际关系中的视觉(数据)观察:关注、密切描述和不同视角的政治
视觉国际关系(IR)是否已经离视觉人工制品的内容太远了?这是一个自相矛盾的问题。视觉红外是一个充满活力和多元化的领域,以无数的方式探索视觉。尽管如此,该领域倾向于关注视觉人工制品的社会政治含义的“深度”阅读,而忽略了对它们可能描绘的事件、情况或现象的密切而细心的观察和描述。简单地说,视觉IR通常将视觉作为视觉来分析,而不是将其视为研究社会世界的切入点。但是一段酷刑视频能告诉我们酷刑的实用性吗?一段关于和平谈判的视频是否能让我们了解谈判的成功或失败?我们能否在视觉中瞥见“现实”?我们解决这些问题的方法是,首先将我们的重点放在近距离的“视觉(数据)观察”上,在概念对话中与文献现有的重点放在深度解释上。其次,我们概述了三种视觉观察方法,因为它们部署在红外之外。第三,我们揭示了这些方法如何对国际关系有价值,特别是对于-à-vis实践、物质性和话语的研究。最后,我们通过询问视觉数据观察是否可以保留关键的政治潜力来得出结论。
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来源期刊
Review of International Studies
Review of International Studies INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS-
CiteScore
5.50
自引率
3.30%
发文量
49
期刊介绍: Review of International Studies serves the needs of scholars in international relations and related fields such as politics, history, law, and sociology. The Review publishes a significant number of high quality research articles, review articles which survey new contributions to the field, a forum section to accommodate debates and replies, and occasional interviews with leading scholars.
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