The Philosophy and Practice of Objects/Things

Research Group, National University of Ireland, Galway

Material culture and the place and significance of objects/things, both in relation to individuals and as entities as such, have been at the centre of a renewed interest as testified to by Object-Oriented-Ontology, Speculative Realism, and Kantian Correlationism. Our intent is to interrogate the representation, theorization, and cultural practice of things by applying an interdisciplinary approach, combining philosophy, cinema studies, cultural studies, literature, and translation studies. Individually or as part of research collaborations, the members of the research group have already disseminated their work in book forms, journal articles and conference papers. Our purpose as we found this cluster is to establish an ongoing forum for discussion, collaboration and research in this area through the organization of conferences, workshops, blogs, academic publications and creative engagement with communities of artists and thinkers internationally. The Research Group is affiliated with the “Italian Thought Network” (italianthoughtnetwork.com).