As part of the research workshop project “From Process to Aesthetic: Recontextualizing Modernism in South Asia through Cinema, Print, and Object-Oriented Ontology,” the Chair of Media Philosophy is hosting the international online roundtable series “Mediating Modernity across Cinema and Print” on April 23–24, 2026.

The two-day event serves as a platform for focused scholarly exchange and brings together international researchers working at the intersection of media studies, architectural history, film theory, and print culture. The aim is to examine the role of media in the formation of modernist discourses and to analyze how ideas of the Bauhaus and European modernism have been recontextualized in postcolonial South Asia through film, print culture, and design practices.

Program

April 23, 2026, 5–7 p.m: Chairs: Sneha Singh (Bauhaus University Weimar), Lalitha Gopalan (University of Texas at Austin), Salma Siddique (Humboldt University of Berlin), Priya Sasidharan (Measi Academy of Architecture, Chennai)

April 24, 2026, 10 a.m.–12 p.m: Chairs: Pappal Suneja (Bauhaus University Weimar), Manu P. Sobti (The University of Queensland, Brisbane), Saptarshi Sanyal (National University of Singapore), Rupinder Singh (Independent Researcher, Ahmedabad)

The roundtables understand film and print as active mediating structures in the formation of modernity. Based on case studies from postcolonial South Asia and transnational networks of modernity, the presentations examine the role of visual media in shaping architectural discourses, aesthetic categories, and public imaginaries. A special focus is placed on processes of circulation, translation, and disciplinary exchange, as well as on editorial practices, montage, and visual narration as forms of knowledge production.

The presentations are divided into three interconnected thematic areas:

- Media infrastructures and publication networks

- Cinematic aesthetics and spatial imagination

- Postcolonial reformulations of modernity

Each session includes short presentations, followed by moderated discussions and an open exchange with the audience.

Participation is open to all interested parties. Registration via email to Sneha Singh: sneha.singh[at]uni-weimar.de Access details will be sent to registered participants via email.

Contact:

Pappal Suneja, Professor of Theory and History of Modern Architecture, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism (Email: pappal.suneja[at]uni-weimar.de) and Sneha Singh, Professor of Media Philosophy, Faculty of Media (Email: sneha.singh[at]uni-weimar.de)