The Catastrophe of the present: excess, distraction, apophenia, and the arts

Descripción

Contrary to the widespread belief that our present moment is defined by an overload of stimuli, leading to distraction as a defense against sensory excess, Salamanca argues that it is the process of securitization in everyday life that actively shapes this perceptual disposition. The constant scanning of our surroundings for potential threats fosters an anticipatory, utilitarian mode of perception —one that hijacks the gaze, constrains our associative capacities, and limits the possibility of meaning-making beyond paranoid frameworks. Salamanca terms this phenomenon the “catastrophe of the present,” a profound rewiring of our perceptual coding. In this lecture, Salamanca will explore how the arts reclaim apophenic perceptual experiences, offering a crucial counterbalance to the normative perceptual regimes of our time.

Período	01 jul. 2025
Celebrado en	Catholic University of Portugal, Portugal
Grado de reconocimiento	Internacional