Continuous Curatorial Conversations is a practice-led exploration of conversation, both as a medium and as a tool for capturing supplementary histories of the curatorial. The primary question of this research project is how the medium of conversation can be explored to write supplementary histories of the curatorial which thus far have been omitted from extant publications on the subject. Three important sub questions guide this exploration. First, what is and has been the role of conversation within the curatorial? What are the possibilities and limitations within the medium of conversation? What roles do conviviality and hospitality play within the process of conversation? This thesis reflects upon a series of curated projects that explore the sp/pl/ace for curatorial conversation and also reviews a collection of one-to-one recorded conversations conducted by the author, including conversations with Alfredo Cramerotti, Hedwig Fijen, Mel Gooding, William Furlong and Sarah Lowndes. Sites of fieldwork include: the 54th Venice Biennale; Manifesta 8, The European Biennial of Contemporary Art; and Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art 2012. Through these projects and related recordings it unpicks the norms and possibilities of what and when one can record on the subject of the curatorial. The hypothesis of this study is that a great deal of curatorial activity is locked up in conversation, yet a disproportion makes it to the pages of the history of the field. Furthermore, in its clean transcribed form it misrepresents the fragility and nuance of the original exchange. The theoretical context of this research looks at Nicolas Bourriaud’s notion of Relational Aesthetics, the writing of Maria Lind and Paul O’Neill, with a focus on Audio Arts. A new methodology relating to curatorial conversation and its recording has therefore been identified as ‘critical conviviality’. The writing relating to Continuous Curatorial Conversations research takes the form of four books. The book ‘An Introduction’ comprises the PhD thesis and sits next to a bespoke online platform www.continuous-curatorial-conversations.org which hosts a selection of audio recordings collated during the research process. The books ‘Continuous’, ‘Curatorial’, and ‘Conversations’ unpack the lineage and context of Alexandra C.M. Ross’s practice and projects conducted during her research and are to be read in no strict order. The new knowledge resulting from this thesis and relating practice is the attention to the subtleties of conversation and its capture as it relates to the instigation, recording and presentation of semi-private matters in semi-public contexts.

Summaries in German and English / Text in German / Die vorliegende, in der Praktischen Theologie respektive Religionspädagogik verfasste Arbeit fragt nach einem geeigneten Rahmen, in dem religiöse Lernprozesse für Heranwachsende entstehen können, mit dem primären Ziel der Identitätsstiftung durch den christlichen Glauben. In dieser Untersuchung ist der Gedanke leitend, dass wahres Menschsein nur als Existenz im Gegenüber und in Beziehung zu Gott verstanden werden kann. Es wird argumentiert, dass Lernen nicht nur einen kognitiven Prozess darstellt, aber dass "Lernen in Beziehung" einen Beitrag zur Daseinsdeutung und Identitätsbildung leistet. Maßgebend ist dabei der Gedanke, dass nicht der Mensch den Glauben bewirkt, sondern Gott. Hinsichtlich meiner interdisziplinären Forschungen wurde deutlich, Essen in Gemeinschaft fördert aufgrund seiner impliziten Werte die Gesprächskultur des Glaubens und daher die Kommunikation des Evangeliums; wo Heranwachsende sich vor Gott und in Gemeinschaft mit Gott neu verstehen können; ganz wesentlich ist das Verständnis des „Sein-in-Gemeinschaft“ und das Vertrauen, Gott sichert seine Gegenwart und Gemeinschaft auf dem Weg des Lebens zu. / In this study processes of learning for teenagers are explored with a view to the formation of faith identity. The study is done within Practical Theology and Religious Education, but perspectives from other disciplines are also investigated. The underlying premise of the study is that humans cannot forge faith – faith comes through existence before God and a relationship with God. It is argued that learning does not come through cognitive processes only, but that "learning in relationships" contributes to understanding one's existence and the formation of the own identity. From an interdisciplinary perspective it is shown that communal meals foster relationships and promote a culture of discussion, therefore opening up the possibility of discussing the faith and of communicating the Gospel in an atmosphere of community; where young people could come to a new understanding of themselves before God and in relationship with God and others; where their faith identity could be formed. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology

Ma thèse se concentre sur la question de la transformation de la pratique du banquet classique face, d’une part, à la nouvelle situation sociopolitique découlant de l’installation des royaumes dits successeurs et de la dissolution des structures politiques classiques ;et d’autre part, face à l’intensification de ce que l’on appelle communément la « christianisation » du monde romain. Mes recherches concernent le monde romain occidental (Gaule, Italie et Espagne) à partir du moment où le discours ascétique oriental se diffuse massivement en occident dans la seconde moitié du IVe siècle, mettant fin à ce que Robert Markus appelle le « christianisme antique ». La question principale de ma thèse concerne le discours chrétien et ascétique qui porte sur les questions alimentaires et les réponses données par les groupes sociaux dont l’usage du banquet classique est suffisamment documenté. En l’occurrence les aristocrates (en ce compris les évêques), les communautés cénobitiques et le mouvement anachorétique. La seconde question abordée dans mes recherches est celle posée par la présence « barbare » et l’image du mangeur barbare en ces siècles de transition socioculturelle. Le terminus ante quem de mes recherches se situe à la fin du VIe siècle, en un monde romain désormais indubitablement transformé.<p><p><p> <p>La mia tesi si incentra sulla questione della trasformazione della pratica classica del banchetto nel confronto, da una parte con la nuova situazione sociale e politica dovuta all’insediamento dei regni post-romani, e, dall’altra, con l’intensificazione della cosiddetta “cristianizzazione” del mondo romano. La tesi riguarda lo spazio romano occidentale (cioè Gallia, Italia, Spagna) a partire dal momento in cui si diffonde la grande moda dell’ascetismo orientale dalla seconda metà del IV secolo. La questione principale della tesi, che occupa i capitoli tre e quattro, riguarda il discorso cristiano e ascetico sull’alimentazione e poi le risposte date dai gruppi sociali il cui uso del banchetto è documentato a sufficienza, in fatti specie gli aristocratici, il mondo monastico, e gli eremiti. I due primi capitoli riguardano, rispettivamente, la pratica del banchetto classico nella tarda antichità e la questione della presenza “barbara” e dell’immagine del mangiatore barbaro in quei secoli. La conclusione della tesi si colloca alla fine del VI secolo, in un momento in cui il mondo romano è indubbiamente trasformato.<p><p><p>My doctoral thesis concentrates on the question of the transformation of the classical banquet through the encounter with, on the one hand, the new sociopolitical situation due to the migration and installation of the new successor kingdoms ;and on the other hand, with the intensification of the Christianization of the Roman world. My research focuses on the Western Roman world (Gaul, Italy and Spain) from the moment in which the eastern ascetic discourse spreads widely in the West in the second half of the 4th century, causing what Robert Markus calls “The end of Ancient Christianity”. The main question of my thesis regards the Christian and ascetic discourse on food practices and the answers given by the social groups who’s uses of the banquet is documented enough. In this case, the aristocrats (within which the bishops), the monastic communities and the hermits. The second question taken into consideration in my thesis is the one presented by the “barbarian” presence and the literary image of the barbarian eater in these centuries of socio cultural transformation. The terminus ante quem of my research is placed at the end of the 6th century, in a undoubtly transformed Roman world. / Doctorat en Histoire, art et archéologie / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished