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Cover Letter: Models of Representation or Means of Recuperation From Mental Disorders. To My Surprise

Ali Shobeiri is applying for the NOMIS Fellowship to research "Psychosomatic Imagery", exploring mental disorders through photography and phenomenology. He has 15 years experience as a photographer and academic degrees including a PhD from Leiden University. As an Assistant Professor, he is interested in pursuing this research idea but has lacked time due to teaching obligations. The fellowship would allow him to establish an interdisciplinary field at the intersection of image studies, psychology, and philosophy.

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Jamie McGrath
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93 views2 pages

Cover Letter: Models of Representation or Means of Recuperation From Mental Disorders. To My Surprise

Ali Shobeiri is applying for the NOMIS Fellowship to research "Psychosomatic Imagery", exploring mental disorders through photography and phenomenology. He has 15 years experience as a photographer and academic degrees including a PhD from Leiden University. As an Assistant Professor, he is interested in pursuing this research idea but has lacked time due to teaching obligations. The fellowship would allow him to establish an interdisciplinary field at the intersection of image studies, psychology, and philosophy.

Uploaded by

Jamie McGrath
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Cover Letter

Dear Admission Committee at eikones,

I am Ali Shobeiri, a 36-year-old Assistant Professor of Visual Art and Photography Theories
at Leiden University. Being fervidly excited about the NOMIS Fellowship, herewith I would
like to first introduce myself to you and then explain why I am inexpressibly enthusiastic
about the NOMIS Fellowship.
My interest in images goes back to 15 years ago, when I started to work as a
photographer across different continents. Being a photographer not only gave me insights
into the technical, artistic, and discursive sides of photography, but also germinated the first
seeds of philosophical thinking about images in my mind. To fertilize my image-bound
thoughts, I first studied a BA of photography, which I finished as the top student of my
department and with a thesis grade of 9.75, and later studied a ResMA of Visual Culture,
which I finished cum laude and with a thesis graded of 9.5. Immediately after my MA, I was
offered a PhD position at Leiden University, which I began on September 2016 and finished
unprecedentedly on January 2018. My PhD made the basis of my interdisciplinary
monograph, called: Place: Towards a Geophilosophy of Photography. My proven academic
records eventually lead to my tenured appointment as a full-time Assistant Professor at
Leiden University in September 2018. Since then, I have devised and thought diverse
BA/MA/PhD seminars/lectures on art history, image studies, and photographic theories.
Nevertheless, becoming tenured post-haste also have had its drawbacks: being heavily
swamped with teachings, administrations, and supervisions has not allowed me to pursue the
research idea I have had in mind over two years now, which I would like to call
“Psychosomatic Imagery”.
During the past years, I came across multitude of artists who use photographic images as
models of representation or means of recuperation from mental disorders. To my surprise,
thus far has not there been any comprehensive theoretical study of mental disorders in
photography, especially through phenomenological concepts and methods. Being myself
rooted in philosophy and rivetted by mental disorders, I have therefore decided to write an
interdisciplinary monograph that looks into mental disorders through photography and
phenomenology. My research project aims to establish an interdisciplinary field called
“psychosomatic imagery”, which is situated at the intersection of image studies, psychology,
and philosophy, thereby inviting diverse scholars to shed light on the intricacies of mental
disorders through images.
Having both practical and theoretical knowledge of interdisciplinary research at my
disposal, I am confident that eikones is an impeccable platform for the cross fertilization of
my nascent ideas, wherein I can pursue my passion for images and hopefully finalize my
second monograph. If I am given the chance, I will be delighted to share my detailed work
plan during an interview with your team. Should you have any inquiries about my academic
competences, collaboration skills, or work ethics, please do not hesitate to contact the
references listed in the next page.

I am looking forward to talking and hopefully working with you in the future.
Ali Shobeiri, October 2020.

Academic references:

1. Prof. Dr. Sybille Lammes, Professor of New Media and Digital Culture and Academic
Director of Center for the Arts in Society, LUCAS, Leiden University
Email: s.lammes@hum.leidenuniv.nl
Web: https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/sybille-lammes#tab-1

2. Prof. Dr. Kitty Zijlmans, Professor of Contemporary Art History and Theory of World
Art Studies, Leiden University
Email: c.j.m.zijlmans@hum.leidenuniv.nl
Web: https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/kitty-zijlmans#tab-1

3. Dr. Helen Westgeest, Associate Professor of Modern and Contemporary Art History
and Theory of Photography, Leiden University
Email: h.f.westgeest@hum.leidenuniv.nl
Web: https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/helen-westgeest#tab-1

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