• Manuscript submission deadline: 20 June 2024
• Publication: December 2024
• Thematic editor of the issue: Dr Emilia Kiecko
  

Representations in the form of drawings, infographics, images, models, films and other visualisations seem almost indispensable in the production and transmission of knowledge. They give the impression of being universal tools that help objectively ‘embody’ any data and ideas and make those accessible. While ‘doing’ so, representations not infrequently seek to ‘camouflage’ their own interpretive nature by simulating the objectivity and transparency of their medium. 

Knowledge-producing representations are at work not only in research or ‘professional’ discourses. They are also an integral part of visual culture as such and facilitate the consumption of science and scholarship. This makes a critical exploration of representations and the work they do a warranted and timely pursuit. 

We invite papers addressing the following thematic concerns (including from a historical perspective): 

• In what ways do representations contribute to the production of knowledge? What are their limitations and capacities in this respect (what should they be)? What are the relationships between representations and reality? 
• What aesthetic aspects of representations affect our understanding of the world? What are the relationships between ‘scientific’ representations (e.g. infographics) and art? 
• How do ‘research’ images collaborate with research language in presenting academic knowledge? 
• In what ways does the medium of such representations influence their persuasive potential? 
• What are (were) the ethical aspects of producing and employing ‘scientific’ representations? 
• Historical ‘scientific’ representations as retraced and interpreted ex post. How does ‘new’ knowledge shape our image of ‘old’ knowledge? 

Contributions to the issue are invited from historians of art, science and design and from philosophers interested in the epistemology of images. 

Manuscripts (in Polish or English, between 20 000 and 40 000 characters, with up to ten figures) should be formatted in accordance with Author Guidelines (available at https://wuwr.pl/quart/for-authors) and e-mailed to quart@uwr.edu.pl by 20 June 2024. The Editors reserve the right to make their own selection of the submissions. Each manuscript undergoes a double-blind review process.