Papers by Soulaf Khalifeh
“The whole tendency of modern communication whether in the press, in advertising or in the high a... more “The whole tendency of modern communication whether in the press, in advertising or in the high arts is towards participation in a process, rather than the apprehension of concepts. And this major revolution, intimately linked to technology, is one whose consequences have not begun to be studied although they have begun to be felt."
Recalling McLuhan’s words, this paper is an attempt to study the effects and consequences of technology and how it allowed performance artists greater flexibility in experimenting with space, time and representation, engaging in a social and institutional critique. The pertinent questions here are: how are performance artists reflecting upon our social and political structures today, and what would the role of technology be in such critique? If performance art, which is a time-based art that emphasizes interaction between artist and audience, is still concerned with keeping ‘art’ close to people, it will need to take into account the new spaces and times engendered by technology. Furthermore, it will need to devise its own space and time, fashioning its own modes engagement and perception, by questioning how the artist can still be present today in a world where we interact with screens more than people, where we broadcast our lives instead of living them.
The dissertation paper provides an analysis of the use of religious symbols in a sectarian public... more The dissertation paper provides an analysis of the use of religious symbols in a sectarian public space exposing how they are used as signs of collective identity and political affiliation in post-war Lebanon.
Religious symbols are prominent in the public space and they are worn and used not only by devout believers but also by non-religious people alike, who might practice little or nothing of religion privately. They fall under the commonly accepted aegis of religion, so they are most likely to pass unchallenged as a religious manifestation in the public space.
Through this research, I’m looking at symbols not only as having a religious function
but also a social one. My aim is to investigate religious symbols at the level of interaction among individuals and communities, not at a private and personal level because no matter how we define religious symbols they cannot be understood independently of their articulations in the social life.
As much as it is important to analyze how a believer relates to and uses a symbol, which at one level may seem fixed, the harder and more challenging task is to identify the role this symbol plays in the unstable space formed by the collusion of the various religious communities in Lebanon. Then, we could discover other aspects of religious symbols that could be formed by the devious and subtle manner in which social actors use symbols.
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Papers by Soulaf Khalifeh
Recalling McLuhan’s words, this paper is an attempt to study the effects and consequences of technology and how it allowed performance artists greater flexibility in experimenting with space, time and representation, engaging in a social and institutional critique. The pertinent questions here are: how are performance artists reflecting upon our social and political structures today, and what would the role of technology be in such critique? If performance art, which is a time-based art that emphasizes interaction between artist and audience, is still concerned with keeping ‘art’ close to people, it will need to take into account the new spaces and times engendered by technology. Furthermore, it will need to devise its own space and time, fashioning its own modes engagement and perception, by questioning how the artist can still be present today in a world where we interact with screens more than people, where we broadcast our lives instead of living them.
Religious symbols are prominent in the public space and they are worn and used not only by devout believers but also by non-religious people alike, who might practice little or nothing of religion privately. They fall under the commonly accepted aegis of religion, so they are most likely to pass unchallenged as a religious manifestation in the public space.
Through this research, I’m looking at symbols not only as having a religious function
but also a social one. My aim is to investigate religious symbols at the level of interaction among individuals and communities, not at a private and personal level because no matter how we define religious symbols they cannot be understood independently of their articulations in the social life.
As much as it is important to analyze how a believer relates to and uses a symbol, which at one level may seem fixed, the harder and more challenging task is to identify the role this symbol plays in the unstable space formed by the collusion of the various religious communities in Lebanon. Then, we could discover other aspects of religious symbols that could be formed by the devious and subtle manner in which social actors use symbols.