Who we are
Labim
The Laboratory for the Study of Images and the Imaginary (Labim) aims to become a reference center for research into the impact of images and the importance of the imaginary in contemporary societies. The proposal rests on taking into account the very nebulosity of the concept and seeking multiple theoretical approaches to the phenomena it implies.
The laboratory also intends to investigate the connections between images and imagination and related theoretical domains, such as the study of "atmospheres" or "ambiences" within the horizon of a new aesthetics, the "materialities of communication" in the field of media theories and visual cultures in a decolonial context.
More specifically, the aim is to investigate the profitability of these theoretical tools in the field of politics and culture within a Latin American context, with its historical, regional and civilizational peculiarities. In parallel to drawing up bibliographies and inventories of authors, the laboratory proposes to develop new methodologies and ways of investigating these fields, drawing particular inspiration from alternative epistemologies and practices that are not yet widespread in the academic field, such as "fictocriticism", "hyperstition" and the "epistemologies of the South".
The Imaginary
The concept of the imaginary and the set of notions often associated with it (myth, imagination, symbol, etc.) are among the most ambiguous and difficult to define in the instrumental repertoire of the human sciences. This has not prevented them from receiving continuous attention from researchers, particularly in the last 30 years, with the consolidation of digital technologies in everyday life.
Today, the imaginary is used in fields as diverse as political science, anthropology, the science of images (Bildwissenschaft) and the study of new media
