On December 12, 2024, as part of the ViCom annual meeting, we held a mini theory workshop at the Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften in Bad Homburg. Designed to prepare for the second phase of ViCom, the workshop gathered theory-oriented researchers from within ViCom and potential new members not yet involved in ViCom. The goal was to bring together scholars from various disciplines with a strong focus on theory building to jointly brainstorm about the conception of the second phase.
We are very pleased that researchers from a wide range of disciplines participated:
- Semiotics and Cognitive Linguistics
- Formal Semantics and Pragmatics
- Prosody and Intonation
- Computational Linguistics
- Philosophy of Language
- Experimental Linguistics with a Strong Interest in Theory
The workshop began with four keynote talks, each representing a key area crucial for developing a comprehensive theory of the meaning of visual communication. These areas and their presenters were:
- Semantics – Stefan Hinterwimmer (University of Hamburg)
- Semiotics – Ellen Fricke (University of Chemnitz)
- Philosophy – Emanuel Viebahn (University of Hamburg)
- Pragmatics-Phonology Interface – Frank Kügler (University of Frankfurt)
Setting the stage for the entire workshop, the keynotes addressed the following questions:
- Why is visual communication an important topic in their field?
- What can their field contribute to the theoretical modeling of visual communication phenomena?
- What are the specific challenges faced by their field in this context?
- What are potential points of connection or collaboration with other areas?
In the subsequent group work phase, participants presented their project ideas for the second phase and discussed theoretical assumptions and implications. They also explored potential collaborations and considered the impact on the second phase of ViCom.
The workshop culminated in presentations of the group work, moderated and commented on by our current and upcoming Mercator Fellows, Susan Goldin-Meadow (University of Chicago) and Sotaro Kita (University of Warwick), followed by a concluding plenary discussion.
We would like to thank all the participants for their engagement and valuable contributions. Their expertise and collaborative efforts enriched the discussions and helped lay a strong foundation for the next phase of ViCom. We look forward to the interdisciplinary collaborations that emerged from this workshop and to the future developments in the theory of visual communication that may result from our collective efforts.
