The evolution of the concept of synesthesia in the nineteenth century as revealed through the history of its name

ABSTRACT

Synesthesia is a rare perceptual condition causing unusual sensations, which are triggered by the stimulation of otherwise unrelated modalities (e.g., the sensation of colors triggered when listening to music). In addition to the name it takes today, the condition has had a wide variety of designations throughout its scientific history. These different names have also been accompanied by shifting boundaries in its definition, and the literature has undergone a considerable process of change in the development of a term for synesthesia, starting with “obscure feeling” in 1772, and ending with the first emergence of the true term “synesthesia” or “synæsthesiæ” in 1892. In this article, we will unpack the complex history of this nomenclature; provide key excerpts from central texts, in often hard-to-locate sources; and translate these early passages and terminologies into English.     

Lydia Wilson Marshall (Ed.): Landscapes of Slavery in Africa

African Archaeological Review -     

Fields of gold: reflections on the research relations of the cultural policy researcher

ABSTRACT

This article discusses the methodological implications of the relations we have to our object of study as cultural policy researchers. We ask: What research relations we typically are part of and what social dimensions structure these relations? These questions are discussed by comparing field experiences from two cultural forms that can be characterized as polar opposites when it comes to the degree to which they are legitimized: contemporary opera and dance bands. We suggest that four dimensions are especially relevant to help ‘unpack’ the relations we typically find ourselves in as cultural policy researchers; cultural hierarchy, research conditions, geography and, gender and age. The coexistence of these dimensions means that the cultural policy researcher regularly finds him/herself in complex situations that we suggest should be analysed in terms of the ways in which, and the extent to which, we develop roles as insiders – or outsiders – in the field