Notwithstanding the absence of a generally accepted theory of intermediality, the aim of this article is to shed light on the ways in which intermedial research has come to constitute itself through a collective, cumulative process. Taking as a starting point the international, peer-reviewed journal Intermédialités/Intermediality, a journal that has been particularly open to the publication and promotion of case studies, we explore how case studies published in the journal have given rise to a new intelligibility. Building on the recommendations formulated by Jean-Claude Passeron and Jacques Revel in their 2005 book Penser par cas, we will aim, in particular, to “highlight [. . .] the reciprocal implication that takes place between the articulation of theory and the unfolding of inquiry.” Seeking to identify the “descriptive concepts” that have allowed for “previously unobservable phenomena” to be deciphered, our aim is to reflect on the multiple ways intermedial case studies collect the results of their inquiries so as to attempt a “theoretical reconfiguration” that nonetheless retains its specific empirical, provisional, and circumstantial character. By delving into the archive of articles of a singular journal, one that was born from a specific context and operating within specific milieus, we are thus ourselves performing a “case study” of sorts. Consequently, as with most case studies, ours also constitutes an invitation for similar future case studies to emerge.
- intermediality
- Intermédialités
- intermedial studies (Germany
- Sweden
- Canada)
- intermedial case studies
- epistemology of case studies
- collective contributions
- exemplarity
- Aby Warburg