Coral reefs are today a figure in popular Western imagination associated with immense natural beauty, underwater biodiversity, as well as ecological fragility in a high-carbon world.  But how did this figure emerge? What imaginaries and figures did it replace? And what function does this figure fulfill in contemporary popular culture?   This BLUE Readings seminar will try to answer these questions by understanding coral reefs as a spectacle in Western cultural history associated with the emergence of mass-mediated and scientific visual culture after the 1920s. Along the way, we will discuss the relationship between technology, aesthetics, imaginaries, and nature. It might also be an occasion to think about the visual basis for the cultural history of biodiversity and of the Anthropocene.

For this Blue Readings seminar, we will read and discuss:

• Elias, A. (2019). Coral Empire: Underwater Oceans, Colonial Tropics, Visual Modernity. Durham, Duke University Press.
  • We will read the entire book, but if your time is limited, you can concentrate on Parts 1, 4, and 5 plus the Introduction and Conclusion.

All are welcome.  If you want to join us at Moesgaard, just show up. To get a Zoom link or a copy of the texts, please write to Nils Bubandt at bubandt@cas.au.dk.