- Prof. Sonsoles Hernández Barbosa PhD
Facultad de Filosofía y Letras
Universidad de las Islas Baleares, Campus UIB
Ctra. Valldemossa km 7.5 s/n, 07122
Palma - Baleares (Spain) - (0034) 971173269
- University of Southern California, Visual Studies Research Institute, Department Memberadd
- Cultural History, History of Ideas, Fin de siècle Paris, History of the Senses, History of Science, Synaesthesia, and 11 moreHistoriography (in Art History), Music Aesthetics, Hispanic Studies, French Studies, Comparative Literature, Aesthetics, Art History, Musicology, Interartistic Studies, Sensory Studies, and David Le Bretonedit
- Sonsoles Hernández Barbosa is Associate Professor (Profesora Titular de Universidad) at the department of Historical ... moreSonsoles Hernández Barbosa is Associate Professor (Profesora Titular de Universidad) at the department of Historical Sciences and Art Theory at the University of the Balearic Islands (Spain). Graduated in both Art History and Musicology, she obtained her PhD at the Université de Paris-Sorbonne and Universidad Complutense de Madrid (PhD Extraordinary Prize). She has published the monographs Sinestesias. Arte, literatura y música en el París fin de siglo, 1880-1900 (Abada, 2013) and Un martes en casa de Mallarmé. Redon, Debussy y Mallarmé encontrados (Editorial Complutense, 2010; Abada, 2023), and papers in journals such as Visual Studies, Acta musicologica, French Cultural Studies, Early Popular Visual Culture, Bulletin of Spanish Studies, Revista de Estudios Hispánicos (Washington University in St. Louis) and The Senses & Society. She has recently published the book entitled Vidas excitadas. Sensorialidad y capitalismo en la cultura moderna (Sans Soleil, 2022) in which she explores the role of the senses in the origin of mass culture.
As a poetry writer she has just published the book Núcleos de evolución (Trea, 2018) and Sobrevivir al hábitat (Trea, 2023).edit
Un martes de mayo de 1891, en el número 89 de la parisina rue de Rome, tuvo lugar uno de los encuentros que a la postre constituirían el que probablemente fuera el cenáculo más singular y fructífero de la modernidad. Tres personajes,... more
Un martes de mayo de 1891, en el número 89 de la parisina rue de Rome, tuvo lugar uno de los encuentros que a la postre constituirían el que probablemente fuera el cenáculo más singular y fructífero de la modernidad. Tres personajes, el pintor Odilon Redon, el compositor Claude Debussy y el poeta Stéphane Mallarmé, anfitrión de la velada, tres figuras cardinales del panorama artístico finisecular, enfrentaron sus reflexiones en torno a los límites de la representación de la realidad –ahondando en conceptos cruciales como «sugerencia» y «evocación»– y dieron paso a la formulación de campos de exploración y contagio entre disciplinas tradicionalmente separadas. ¿Es posible una pintura musical? ¿Una música hecha con palabras? ¿Superar, en última instancia, la especificidad de cada disciplina? Fue en las sucesivas reuniones del cenáculo donde muchas de estas cuestiones, que hoy en día son claves para comprender el desarrollo de las prácticas artísticas contemporáneas, se formularon por primera vez.
Entreverando historia cultural e historia del pensamiento, Sonsoles Hernández Barbosa nos adentra en una época fascinante y plantea un análisis de las teorías estéticas discutidas durante dichas reuniones, auténtico laboratorio de los procesos que con el cambio de siglo estallarían en la Europa de las vanguardias.
Entreverando historia cultural e historia del pensamiento, Sonsoles Hernández Barbosa nos adentra en una época fascinante y plantea un análisis de las teorías estéticas discutidas durante dichas reuniones, auténtico laboratorio de los procesos que con el cambio de siglo estallarían en la Europa de las vanguardias.
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Research Interests: Cultural History, Cultural Studies, Aesthetics, Visual Studies, Art History, and 15 moreMedia Studies, Visual Culture, History of Technology, History of Science, Recreation & Leisure Studies, Medical Humanities, Sound studies, 19th Century (History), Aestheticism, Georg Simmel, Visual and Cultural Studies, Fashion Studies, Sensory Studies, Sensory history, and World's Fairs
"En una época de extraordinaria fascinación por los sentidos, el París de finales del siglo XIX fue testigo del florecimiento de un fenómeno conocido como “sinestesia”, literalmente, “sensación conjunta”. Pintores, músicos, poetas,... more
"En una época de extraordinaria fascinación por los sentidos, el París de finales del siglo XIX fue testigo del florecimiento de un fenómeno conocido como “sinestesia”, literalmente, “sensación conjunta”. Pintores, músicos, poetas, dramaturgos e incluso creadores de perfumes asumieron para sus disciplinas cualidades específicas de esferas artísticas ajenas con la intención de lograr, por ejemplo, una pintura musical o una música conformada con palabras. Desde la ciencia médica, la física o la neurofisiología, surgió también un particular interés por la sinestesia, que se constituyó así en un aspecto transversal de la cultura del fin de siglo ubicado en el umbral de la investigación científica, la creación artística, la reflexión filosófica y la creencia esotérica. A través de un prisma caleidoscópico, el presente ensayo propone una aproximación a este fértil entramado de correspondencias sensoriales –a sus orígenes, formulaciones y resultados estéticos–, que la autora integra bajo el apelativo de “sinestesias”.
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Résumé en français
Le Paris de la fin du 19ème siècle voit l’essor du phénomène de la « synesthésie », stricto sensu « sensation multiple ». Peintres, musiciens, poètes, metteurs en scène et même certains créateurs de parfums tentent d’intégrer dans leurs activités créatrices respectives des spécificités issues d’autres domaines artistiques afin de produire, par exemple, une peinture musicale ou une musique faite avec des mots. Au même moment, le monde de la médicine commence aussi à s’intéresser à la synesthésie, et à l’étudier en tant que pathologie. Mais c’est surtout dans le domaine de la physiologie qu’elle suscite un intérêt majeur, s’insérant dans des recherches plus larges sur la diversité des formes de perception sensorielle, allant du visuel au sonore. La synesthésie, située au carrefour de la recherche scientifique, de la création artistique, de la réflexion philosophique et de la croyance ésotérique se présente ainsi comme un point de cristallisation culturel de cette fin de siècle. Adoptant une approche kaléidoscopique, ce livre permet de découvrir ce réseau complexe de correspondances sensorielles, que l’auteure subsume sous la catégorie – plurielle – de « synesthésies », s’intéressant à ses origines, ses formulations et ses résultats esthétiques.
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Résumé en français
Le Paris de la fin du 19ème siècle voit l’essor du phénomène de la « synesthésie », stricto sensu « sensation multiple ». Peintres, musiciens, poètes, metteurs en scène et même certains créateurs de parfums tentent d’intégrer dans leurs activités créatrices respectives des spécificités issues d’autres domaines artistiques afin de produire, par exemple, une peinture musicale ou une musique faite avec des mots. Au même moment, le monde de la médicine commence aussi à s’intéresser à la synesthésie, et à l’étudier en tant que pathologie. Mais c’est surtout dans le domaine de la physiologie qu’elle suscite un intérêt majeur, s’insérant dans des recherches plus larges sur la diversité des formes de perception sensorielle, allant du visuel au sonore. La synesthésie, située au carrefour de la recherche scientifique, de la création artistique, de la réflexion philosophique et de la croyance ésotérique se présente ainsi comme un point de cristallisation culturel de cette fin de siècle. Adoptant une approche kaléidoscopique, ce livre permet de découvrir ce réseau complexe de correspondances sensorielles, que l’auteure subsume sous la catégorie – plurielle – de « synesthésies », s’intéressant à ses origines, ses formulations et ses résultats esthétiques.
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This article analyses the evolutionist discourses on the senses that emerged in the late 19th century, when theories on the evolution of species were in full sway. Drawing on newspapers, essays and medical literature, this article aims to... more
This article analyses the evolutionist discourses on the senses that emerged in the late 19th century, when theories on the evolution of species were in full sway. Drawing on newspapers, essays and medical literature, this article aims to set face to face the two currents of thought that I have identified regarding sensory evolution: the one that stressed the value of the progressive specialisation of the senses as evidence for human evolution mainly supported by Max Nordau, and the one which regarded the sensory regrouping, exemplified by the phenomenon of synaesthesia, as the true symptom of evolution, strongly supported by Victor Segalen. A close examination of their arguments will provide clues concerning their relative position vis-à-vis the theory that stressed the exceptional nature of humankind among all living beings. Based on newspapers, essays and medical literature, this paper, which straddles several fields (history of science, philosophy, cultural history and aesthetics) aims to set both positions face to face, examining their arguments in detail and establishing their genealogies. This will lead to a better understanding of the scope and range of evolutionist discourses in the fin de siècle culture and on their impact upon artistic practices.
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This article presents an exploration of the mechanisms that underpinned simulacrum in the 19th century. To do so, I take as a case study an attraction presented at the Universal Exhibition of 1900: the multi-sensory panorama known as the... more
This article presents an exploration of the mechanisms that underpinned simulacrum in the 19th century. To do so, I take as a case study an attraction presented at the Universal Exhibition of 1900: the multi-sensory panorama known as the Maréorama. This device offered audiences the experience of a half-hour boat trip across the
Mediterranean Sea. In this paper I shall argue that this simulation combines period-relevant codes that link with other artistic and cultural practices of the period – early cinema, prestidigitation, Wagnerian ‘total work of art’ – and a component of technological innovation oriented towards perfecting multi-sensoriality. This combination turned the Maréorama into one of the most sophisticated mimetic immersion devices at the time, blending the tradition of the great rotundas with the effects of mobile panoramas. Other features of this panorama were the physical shocks generated by the motion of the supporting platform and the interactive role assumed by the spectator, which, along with the mimesis, added an element of fiction. I shall argue that the simulation of new realities was stimulated by the imaginaries generated by contemporary novels such as Julius Verne’s, which illustrated future
scenarios and the exploration of unknown landscapes. The Maréorama allowed the spectator to travel across the Mediterranean from the shores of the Seine in a record time. Panoramas, including the Maréorama, became exponents of the utopian capacity of conquering the world, overcoming the limitations of time and space.
Mediterranean Sea. In this paper I shall argue that this simulation combines period-relevant codes that link with other artistic and cultural practices of the period – early cinema, prestidigitation, Wagnerian ‘total work of art’ – and a component of technological innovation oriented towards perfecting multi-sensoriality. This combination turned the Maréorama into one of the most sophisticated mimetic immersion devices at the time, blending the tradition of the great rotundas with the effects of mobile panoramas. Other features of this panorama were the physical shocks generated by the motion of the supporting platform and the interactive role assumed by the spectator, which, along with the mimesis, added an element of fiction. I shall argue that the simulation of new realities was stimulated by the imaginaries generated by contemporary novels such as Julius Verne’s, which illustrated future
scenarios and the exploration of unknown landscapes. The Maréorama allowed the spectator to travel across the Mediterranean from the shores of the Seine in a record time. Panoramas, including the Maréorama, became exponents of the utopian capacity of conquering the world, overcoming the limitations of time and space.
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A finales del siglo XIX, la economía capitalista y las nuevas formas de consumo que trae implícitas tratando de seducir al individuo urbano con multitud de estímulos suponen un cambio en el modo en que este experimenta la ciudad. Esto... more
A finales del siglo XIX, la economía capitalista y las nuevas formas de consumo que trae implícitas tratando de seducir al individuo urbano con multitud de estímulos suponen un cambio en el modo en que este experimenta la ciudad. Esto conlleva la aparición de nuevas patologías, como la neurastenia, producto de un supuesto exceso de demanda del cerebro. Estos efectos fueron abordados en la época por Georg Simmel, quien se interesó por la reacción que sobre el individuo produce la urbe capitalista ligada a la "intensificación de la vida nerviosa". En el presente artículo se indaga en la lectura que Simmel plantea de los efectos que la ciudad moderna ejerce en el ciudadano. Me centro particularmente en la cuestión de la saturación de estímulos para tratar de entender no solo cómo creía que la ciudad afectaba al ciudadano en la época sino también el novedoso papel que otorga a la sensibilidad como intermediaria del vínculo entre individuo y ciudad.
ABSTRACT: At the end of the 19 th Century, the capitalist economy and new forms of consumption associated with it set out to seduce the city dweller with numerous stimuli that transformed their experience of the city. This involved the appearance of new pathologies like neurasthenia, related to a supposed excess cerebral demand. Sociologist Georg Simmel became interested in the effects of the capitalist metropolis on the individual linked to the "intensification of nervous life". In this paper I address Simmel's view of the city dweller's reaction to the novelties of modern city life. Special attention is paid to the question of overstimulation, approaching not only how the influence of urban life on the individual was understood, but also the new role given to sensitivity as an intermediary between the individual and the city.
ABSTRACT: At the end of the 19 th Century, the capitalist economy and new forms of consumption associated with it set out to seduce the city dweller with numerous stimuli that transformed their experience of the city. This involved the appearance of new pathologies like neurasthenia, related to a supposed excess cerebral demand. Sociologist Georg Simmel became interested in the effects of the capitalist metropolis on the individual linked to the "intensification of nervous life". In this paper I address Simmel's view of the city dweller's reaction to the novelties of modern city life. Special attention is paid to the question of overstimulation, approaching not only how the influence of urban life on the individual was understood, but also the new role given to sensitivity as an intermediary between the individual and the city.
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Este artículo aborda, a partir de abundante documentación de archivo, la investigación en torno a los sentidos llevada a cabo por el médico Luis Simarro Lacabra (1851–1921), pionero en el ámbito de la psicología experimental española.... more
Este artículo aborda, a partir de abundante documentación de archivo, la investigación en torno a los sentidos llevada a cabo por el médico Luis Simarro Lacabra (1851–1921), pionero en el ámbito de la psicología experimental española. Abordaremos para ello cómo Simarro concibe la sensibilidad desde un punto de vista psicofisiológico y a partir de ahí trataremos de entender las implicaciones sociales y culturales derivadas de su trabajo. Para ello, sus escritos serán puestos en relación con discursos contemporáneos del ámbito hispano (F. Giner de los Ríos, Valle-Inclán, Baroja) y europeo (Simmel, Wundt, Binet) así como con las teorías de la degeneración de la raza humana en auge en el fin de siglo. Finalmente, a partir de su estudio de la enfermedad de la neurastenia, el caso de Simarro nos permitirá entender de qué modo un discurso de orden biológico pasa a adquirir una dimensión social, histórica y cultural, un enfoque comúnmente adoptado en el pensamiento finisecular.
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The 1900 World’s Fair congregated a large number of attractions that revolutionised the tradition of panorama. These attractions were complex devices: often, they incorporated highly technological advances and played a vital role in the... more
The 1900 World’s Fair congregated a large number of attractions that revolutionised the tradition of panorama. These attractions were complex devices: often, they incorporated highly technological advances and played a vital role in the emergence of an entertainment culture. In this paper, I attempt to reconstruct three of these devices through an examination of archival material: the Maréorama, which followed the tradition of simulating a journey; the Globe Céleste, which was similar to today’s planetariums; and the Phono-cinéma-théâtre, which, following the example of the Théâtroscope, was based on the representation of a stage performance. All three of these combined visual, sound and scenic effects. I will try to interpret how the visual experience was complemented by other sensory stimuli, such as sounds and smells, as well as by the immersive nature of the devices. My aim is to investigate what these attractions, as material objects, may have contributed to overcoming a merely visual conceptualisation of perception. Also, the paper explores how the fin de siècle culture appears to have assumed this new perspective, as reflected by its objects, and examines its relationship with the incipient mass culture.
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La théorie de l’art symboliste conçoit l’œuvre d’art comme un outil privilégié de connaissance. Dans cette pensée, la conception d’un univers interconnecté issue de la tradition de la théorie des correspondances à travers laquelle est... more
La théorie de l’art symboliste conçoit l’œuvre d’art comme un outil privilégié de connaissance. Dans cette pensée, la conception d’un univers interconnecté issue de la tradition de la théorie des correspondances à travers laquelle est appréhendée la connaissance du monde, trouve son corrélat avec une approche à l’œuvre d’art expansive, qui ne limite pas sa nature à son aboutissement à travers une seule discipline mais qui revendique son caractère synesthésique. La possibilité d’une connaissance fragmentée du monde est donc écartée, de même que la conception d’une œuvre d’art conçue à partir des spécificités d’une discipline. Dans cet article, nous proposons d’approcher le cas de la théorie symboliste afin de tenter de comprendre comment se sont pensés au sein de ce mouvement les rapports entre connaissance et art ainsi que le rôle adopté par les différentes disciplines artistiques
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In the 1960s, the French artistic and intellectual avant garde showed a renewed interest for Stéphane Mallarmé, as illustrated by the debates published in the magazine Tel Quel, especially between 1967 and 1969. This article makes an... more
In the 1960s, the French artistic and intellectual avant garde showed a renewed interest for Stéphane Mallarmé, as illustrated by the debates published in the magazine Tel Quel, especially between 1967 and 1969. This article makes an overview of these controversies: Why this renewed interest in Mallarmé? How did the new reading of his work depart from Sartre's? What were the, often irreconcilable, positions of the magazine’s contributors with regard to his figure? This account will ultimately be aimed at understanding the «Mallarmé question», as it was defined by Tel Quel’s founding member Philippe Sollers, in its specific historical context.
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The 1900 World's Fair was the beginning of a new phase in the organization of international exhibitions. The Paris fair saw the culmination of a process that progressively transformed exhibitions from specialist fairs for the presentation... more
The 1900 World's Fair was the beginning of a new phase in the organization of international exhibitions. The Paris fair saw the culmination of a process that progressively transformed exhibitions from specialist fairs for the presentation of industrial innovations before a professional audience into recreational spaces for the amusement of much wider sectors of the population. This metamorphosis crystallized in the proliferation of technologically sophisticated attractions, such as the Théâtroscope, the Cinématophone, or the Panorama du Tour du Monde, aimed at seducing the spectator through the stimulation of the senses. These attractions included the ship-shaped Maréorama, which simulated a half an hour long trip along the Mediterranean with different illusions directed at all five senses simultaneously. In this article I shall make use of abundant documentary evidence to propose a reading of the Maréorama and its significant sensorial component. To this end, I shall reconstruct the functional operation of the attraction in detail, pointing out how it differs from similar devices built in the same period in the tradition of panoramatic objects. I shall also incorporate the perspective of its creator, the painter Hugo d'Alési, through the expectations he had of the attraction and its reception by the media. In a wider context, the article aims to clarify the role of the Maréorama in our understanding of the part played by the senses in the experience of modernity.
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Desde mediados del siglo XIX el desarrollo de la psicología experimental y de la fisiología sitúa el estudio de los sentidos en un espacio central, que desde estas disciplinas permeará otros aspectos de la cultura contemporánea. En el... more
Desde mediados del siglo XIX el desarrollo de la psicología experimental y de la fisiología sitúa el estudio de los sentidos en un espacio central, que desde estas disciplinas permeará otros aspectos de la cultura contemporánea. En el caso español, la cuestión de los sentidos suscita un interés creciente a partir de la década de 1870, con las Lecciones sumarias de psicología (1874, 1ª ed.; 1877, 2ª ed.) de Francisco Giner de los Ríos y los trabajos del médico Luis Simarro Lacabra, que recogen los avances de la psicología experimental europea, particularmente de Wilhelm Wundt. En este artículo nos centraremos en el análisis de estos discursos en torno a la sensorialidad surgidos en el fin de siglo español, que se desarrollarán con particular énfasis en el ámbito del pensamiento krausista y en el de la psicología experimental. Junto con la consideración de los sentidos como filtro epistemológico, nos interesará su valoración como mediadores de la experiencia estética así como las consecuencias de este proceso para la reflexión en torno al objeto artístico. Entre ellas podemos destacar la incorporación de una valoración puramente formal de la obra de arte que en su recepción estética converge con los presupuestos de la Einfühlung.
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La presente sección de (Des)encuentros tiene como objetivo explorar el modo en que podemos entender lo virtual en (y desde) el cine de los orígenes. El diálogo que hemos mantenido con Guillaume Soulez (Universidad París III – La Sorbona)... more
La presente sección de (Des)encuentros tiene como objetivo explorar el modo en que podemos entender lo virtual en (y desde) el cine de los orígenes. El diálogo que hemos mantenido con Guillaume Soulez (Universidad París III – La Sorbona) y Sonsoles Hernández (Universitat de les Illes Balears) nos ha permitido, por una parte, desarrollar un trabajo de reflexión y definición de los conceptos fundamentales que permiten entender la construcción de los mundos virtuales (inmersión, simulación, ficción, ilusión, así como lo propiamente virtual) y, por otra parte, trazar puntos de encuentro, reconocer sus estrategias y establecer filiaciones entre el cine de los orígenes, las tecnologías actuales (la realidad virtual, la realidad aumentada, los videojuegos) y los dispositivos ópticos del pasado (los panoramas, el Mareorama, las vistas ópticas).
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In this interview, researcher and professor at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) Esteban Buch shares with us his view of the musicological field, how he construct his objects of study and his personal conception of... more
In this interview, researcher and professor at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) Esteban Buch shares with us his view of the musicological field, how he construct his objects of study and his personal conception of the craft of writing, as well as his recent interest for the sociological theories of culture that lead to his latest works on the relationship between art and popular music forms, particularly in relation to tango. From this fruitful dialogue emerges a picture of musicology in an intimate relationship with the social sciences, driven by a continuosly renewed curiosity and a solid willingness to critical revision without compromising the pleasures of the narrative practice
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Research Interests: Marketing, Visual Studies, Media Studies, Nineteenth Century Studies, Anthropology of the Body, and 15 moreHistory of the Senses, Sound studies, History of Capitalism, Fashion History, Capitalism, Sociology of the Body, Anthropology of the Senses, Visual and Cultural Studies, Pre-Cinema, Sensory Studies, Visual Culture and Media Studies, Sensory history, Medios de Comunicación, Advertising and Marketing Communications, and Recreation and Leisure Studies
Research Interests: Marketing, Visual Studies, Media Studies, Nineteenth Century Studies, Anthropology of the Body, and 15 moreHistory of the Senses, Sound studies, History of Capitalism, Fashion History, Capitalism, Sociology of the Body, Anthropology of the Senses, Visual and Cultural Studies, Pre-Cinema, Sensory Studies, Visual Culture and Media Studies, Sensory history, Medios de Comunicación, Advertising and Marketing Communications, and Recreation and Leisure Studies
Research Interests: Marketing, Visual Studies, Media Studies, Nineteenth Century Studies, Anthropology of the Body, and 15 moreRecreation & Leisure Studies, History of the Senses, History of Capitalism, Sound, Fashion History, Capitalism, Sociology of the Body, Anthropology of the Senses, Visual and Cultural Studies, Marketing & Advertising, Pre-Cinema, Sensory Studies, Visual Culture and Media Studies, Sensory history, and Medios de Comunicación
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Accessing the past is one of the historian’s greatest challenges. For this task, material objects also provide valuable tools, as they retain traces of societies, relations and personal experiences. They take on their own lives, informing... more
Accessing the past is one of the historian’s greatest challenges. For this task, material objects also provide valuable tools, as they retain traces of societies, relations and personal experiences. They take on their own lives, informing us about ideas, attitudes and values, whilst within them the daily lives of ordinary people live on.
Using objects as a means of understanding the past is particularly useful in the case of the modern era (1800-1914), since the emergence of the bourgeoisie has been often explained in relation to the accumulation of wealth and goods.
This seminar will bring us closer to a variety of objects that allow us to reconstruct some of the experiences of modernity: natural and quotidian objects; clothing and atrezzi; childhood objects; dolls; miniatures; corpses; artistic objects; and technological artefacts will be used to shed light on personal or collective feelings and emotions. We are interested in both material objects and their various forms of representation (visual, literary and auditory). This will allow us to understand at once the social and personal functions of the object. Using cultural history as guiding methodology, we will attempt to give shape to the experiences that defined modernity: both the effects of living in a modern city, including collective entertainment, as well as the experiences of nature, from childhood to death.
We would like to approach questions such as: what are the advantages of using objects over textual sources in the reconstruction of past experience? How do objects relate to practices of consumption, fetishism and capitalist economy? In what way do objects allow us to understand emotional relationships and private life? Can we talk about types of experience that were characteristic of modern life?
Using objects as a means of understanding the past is particularly useful in the case of the modern era (1800-1914), since the emergence of the bourgeoisie has been often explained in relation to the accumulation of wealth and goods.
This seminar will bring us closer to a variety of objects that allow us to reconstruct some of the experiences of modernity: natural and quotidian objects; clothing and atrezzi; childhood objects; dolls; miniatures; corpses; artistic objects; and technological artefacts will be used to shed light on personal or collective feelings and emotions. We are interested in both material objects and their various forms of representation (visual, literary and auditory). This will allow us to understand at once the social and personal functions of the object. Using cultural history as guiding methodology, we will attempt to give shape to the experiences that defined modernity: both the effects of living in a modern city, including collective entertainment, as well as the experiences of nature, from childhood to death.
We would like to approach questions such as: what are the advantages of using objects over textual sources in the reconstruction of past experience? How do objects relate to practices of consumption, fetishism and capitalist economy? In what way do objects allow us to understand emotional relationships and private life? Can we talk about types of experience that were characteristic of modern life?