According to premodern theories of sensation and cognition, imaginatio (or: phantasia) serves as an interface between the interior and the exterior: by converting sensory stimuli to internal images and recombining them, the imagination creates pictorial configurations that deviate from the exterior world. Since the imagination is also regarded as the locus of divine or demonic interference, it may also affect the material world. Imagination, thus, engenders wonder(s).

The relationship between wonder and theories of the imagination, as expressed in philosophy and, more implicitly, in literature, is at the center of Michelle Karnes’ research. This joint workshop aims to instigate an interdisciplinary discourse on the subject and to open transcultural perspectives by linking it to the Research Center’s objectives and the participating projects’ areas of expertise. It will focus on interactions between premodern theories of the imagination and literary and visual representations, such as narrations of dreams and visions, perceptions of otherworldly places, or depictions of artistic or magical practices and their effects. What are the similarities and differences that we observe between various historical and cultural situations and their artistic productions? How can these be related to each other? What prioritizations, limitations, and concessions does comparison between these works reveal?