Ways of cross-media research formation

Abstract

The paper offers to extend the historical time frame of modern cross-media studies formation. The start of this research direction dates not from the 1950-60s, as it is usually considered to be, but from the early 20th century, the ‘synthesis epoch’. Development of neosyncretism was accompanied by creating bright theories in aesthetics and art criticism and promoting the concept of arts’ interaction by the humanities. Three scholars — H. Wolfin, M. Dessoir, and A. Warburg were the pioneers of the modern interdisciplinary research field. The author considers that the range of influences on the cross-media studies in literary criticism should be broadened with the works of philosophers and art critics who started to use the cross-media strategies (not the term itself) when analyzing the works of literature and arts. The leading role belonged to the Iconology school (E. Panofsky, R. Wittkower, E. Gombrich et al.). Their methods were based on applying tools of various disciplines. In the first place, they took into account connections between literature and visual arts. Henceforth, philology interpolated the iconological method into visual and comparative studies. One of the contemporary leading cross-media researchers, W. J. T. Mitchell, named his first book “Iconology: Image, Text, Ideology” (1986).
 In the middle of the 20th century, philosophy had a considerable influence on the cross-media research formation. In particular, literary critics referred to phenomenology (the works by M. Dufrenne, R. Ingarden. M. Merleau-Ponty) and actualized the analysis of interacting arts once more. A visual turn in culture caused growing attention to the issues of apperceptive cross-sensual experience. The newest works in the fields of perception psychology, gestalt psychology, neurolinguistics, and neurophysiology also support the general cross-media theory. It is possible that, due to the mutual influences of sciences, a uniform platform for studying syncretic phenomena will be created.