DECADOCS is a pioneering research and training programme enabled by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks (MSCA-DN) aimed at reinterpreting the concept of decadence. Traditionally associated with decline, decadence will be explored through new perspectives, focusing on sustainability, transnationalism, and sensoriality. The programme offers tailored intersectoral training in collaboration with museums, archives, galleries, and other partners, reinforcing its scientific and social impact.
‘Decadent Aesthetics in British and European Cinema, 1890-1930’
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Goldsmiths, University of London and UBE
The project, Decadent Aesthetics in British and European Cinema, 1890-1930, focuses on the vital role that decadence played in cinema beyond the fin de siècle and offers new ways of reimagining and understanding the literary and cultural history and legacy of decadence. It investigates different adaptations of decadent literary texts between 1890 and 1930 in Britain and Europe and interrogates how film directors and producers appropriated the literary decadence of the fin de siècle, with the aim of defining what might be labelled as the ‘decadent aesthetics of cinema’. One of the foundational tasks of the project will be to map and compare the development of national and international forms of decadent cinema over time with a view to identifying and analyzing a decadent aesthetics. The successful candidate will write a thesis of approximately 100,000 words and contribute to a website of resources on decadent British and European film.
Supervision for this project will be divided equally between Goldsmiths University, London and Université Bourgogne Europe, Dijon, France, with a 9-month period of secondment at The Cinema Museum (Kennington, London) and a 6-month period of secondment at the Fondation Jérôme Seydoux Pathé (Paris, France), where the successful candidate will receive additional training and support.
Tasks include:
- a digitization of archival material documenting and showcasing neglected early cinematic artworks in an open-access web platform for scholars and the general public at the Cinema Museum;
- creating a digital resource on decadent cinema from the Fondation Jérôme Seydoux Pathé;
- To write a PhD thesis
- To write articles for scientific peer-reviewed journals
- To attend and participate in research and training activities within the international DECADOCS network and local courses of the doctoral programme
- To teach and disseminate research in the scientific community (international conferences) and non-scientific community, by outreach and public engagement, notably by organising screenings of decadent cinematic works in Britain and France to disseminate the genre to selected representatives of the film industry and general audiences including students.
Supervisors
Jane Desmarais, Goldsmiths University
DECADOCS 