Photography and Its Many Colours: Innovations, Emotions and Activism

Recent scholarship surrounding the development, use, and reuse of colour photography has highlighted the need for more research and debate about photographic colour, in terms of histories, technologies and the emotions they have affected. Long told as merely a triumphalist history of technological achievement, colour photography is steeped as well in controversy, in the re-telling of history, in activism, in politics of individuals, communities and countries. Colour photography, while a boon to some, has been developed and deployed at the expense of others. The PHRC seeks contributions especially from scholars who seek to make the voices of such individuals and communities heard.

In this 9th annual conference of the PHRC we invite papers addressing contemporary debates in and around colour photography. We invite short abstracts of 150-200 words on topics that address themes like:

- Historical and contemporary uses of colourisation
- Emotional and affective responses to colour photography
- Industrial histories
- Activist and political uses of colour in photography
- Colour photography in race and identity politics

Due to the nature of online conferencing, PHRC will innovate its format this year, and thus we are seeking very short abstracts of 150-200 words, and up to 5 keywords for a 15-minute presentation.

Please send abstracts for consideration to phrcdmu.ac.uk by 26 February 2021 - including name, contact details and institutional affiliation (when applicable).

Updates will be advertised via the conference webpage: https://photographichistory.wordpress.com/annual-conference-2021/