Imagination Days 3 Investigates Image-Making, Wonder, and Knowledge

15 May 2026

The meeting had two events: the first, on 11 May, hosted a launch symposium on Verity Platt’s ground-breaking new book, Epistemic Impressions: Making and Mediating Classical Art. The book retells the history of classical Greek aesthetics based on the concept and practice of typosis (rather than mimesis), and does so by investigating poetic and artistic engagement with seals and sponges in the ancient world. The book also invites us to think about image production and knowledge in new ways – precisely as forms of impression-making. The symposium included an introduction to the book by the author, as well as commentary by Albert Bates, Emily Clifford, and Ruth Webb. The event was chaired by Michael Squire.

The second event, on 12 May, continued the theme of the overlaps between the history of imagination and the history of knowledge, but this time with a particular focus on ‘Technologies of Wonder’ from the medieval world through to the 19th century. Speakers included scholars working on 19th century and 18th century wonder literature, and its connections with philosophy and science, including Billie Gavurin, Sharon Ruston, Tita Chico and Sarah Kareem, as well as scholars on early modern intersections of wonder and inquiry (for instance, via utopia, drama, or anecdotes), such as David Colclough, Rowan Tomlinson, Benedict Robinson, Rob Twiss, Laura Mattioli, and Laura Kolb, and medievalists working on the poetic and philosophical production of wonder, such as Michelle Karnes and Nicolette Zeeman. The workshop was co-chaired by Maksymilian Del Mar and Richard Scholar.

The Imagination Research Network is convened by Maksymilian Del Mar, who is Professor of Legal Theory and Legal Humanities at Queen Mary. The aim of the Network is to bring together scholars from across disciplines, and working in different historical periods, to theorise and historicise the imagination.