VISUALTIES OF WOMEN AT WAR

Research on women has gained significant momentum in recent years. This field has now established itself within war studies, as evidenced by numerous recent publications and symposia spanning various historical periods. These works have helped to bring women's active roles in wartime out of the shadows, challenging entrenched representations in the collective imagination—where women are often portrayed as innocent victims alongside children, as prostitutes, or as limited to traditional support roles, such as nurses performing menial medical tasks.
However, within this broader examination of women's representation, visual iconography remains secondary. And yet, the influence of images on the collective imagination has long been recognized—arguably even more so than text, which requires the mediation of language. This has been fully exploited by propagandists of all kinds.
This project aims to study the representation of women in war through still images—posters, editorial cartoons, drawings, leaflets, photographs, and comic strips—throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. This period was marked by significant technological advancements, offering a vast array of media formats, from print to digital platforms. Additionally, these centuries witnessed numerous and diverse armed conflicts, including world wars, colonial wars, wars of decolonization, civil wars, and conflicts driven by ethnic or religious tensions across multiple continents.
Rather than questioning existing methods of image analysis, this project seeks to apply them through direct engagement with specific media, within a well-defined framework. It will examine the iconographic representations of women in armed conflict over more than a century, across different geographical contexts and from multiple perspectives. These interdisciplinary studies will explore both recurring themes and variations depending on the medium, historical period, geographical location, and type of conflict. Given the wide range of media involved, a multidisciplinary approach is essential.
Phase 1 will focus on establishing a network of researchers from diverse fields—including media studies, geography, literature and cultural studies, museology and archival studies, image studies, and international relations—across several countries, in collaboration with the university library La Contemporaine. A dedicated page on Hypotheses.org will help raise the project’s visibility. To foster close collaboration and strong commitment, we will begin with a relatively small group of around ten active participants, each bringing expertise from different disciplines. During this initial phase, we will hold seminars (either online or in person, depending on available funding) to define key research areas, determine the most relevant methodological approach (e.g., chronological, media-based), and establish a timeline for study days and publications.
Phase 2 will put these discussions into practice through the organization of study days and/or conferences open to other researchers, including doctoral students. It may also include the co-organization of an exhibition.
Given the nature of the topic, particular attention will be paid to engaging with audiences beyond academia.
While the project initially focuses on still images, it could eventually lead to a second phase dedicated to moving images, including cinema, video, and video games.