Visual Engagements; Belonging and Affective Encounters in Contemporary Photography.

The thesis explores how contemporary photography practices take on the effect of globalisation on matters of belonging. The discussion makes use of examples from Scandinavia and the geographical area in and around Turkey in order to look at how globalised experiences of belonging incarnate differently in different geographical locations.

The thesis explores how contemporary photography takes on the effect of globalisation on matters of belonging. The discussion makes use of examples from Scandinavia and the geographical area in and around Turkey in order to look at how globalised experiences of belonging incarnate differently in different geographical locations. While the themes of belonging and globalisation are prominent in academic discussions as well as artistic and social practices, little has been written on the emotive, affective, situated and embodied aspects of how photographic practices take on these themes. Although photography theory has recently started to move beyond viewing photography solely as participating in the discursive construction or deconstruction of meaning, the theoretical tools with which to take into account how embodied belongings are lived and created through photographic practices are still limited. The aim of the thesis is twofold, to explore ways in which contemporary photography practices is involved with issues of belonging, and to develop further the theoretical tools that help to understand the differing ways in which photography participates in the formation and reformation of embodied belongings in the twenty first century.