- Entwined Tellings and the Fragility of the Unique: Relating Narratives of Detention and Survival in Pinochet’s Chile Bell, Vikki. 2018. Entwined Tellings and the Fragility of the Unique: Relating Narratives of Detention and Survival in Pinochet’s Chile. Third Text, 32(1), pp. 125-149. ISSN 0952-8822
- Between Documentality and Imagination: Five Theses on Curating the Violent Past Bell, Vikki. 2018. Between Documentality and Imagination: Five Theses on Curating the Violent Past. Memory Studies, 11(2), pp. 137-155. ISSN 1750-6980
- Declining Performativity: Butler, Whitehead and Ecologies of Concern Bell, Vikki. 2012. Declining Performativity: Butler, Whitehead and Ecologies of Concern. Theory, Culture & Society, 29(2), pp. 107-123. ISSN 0263-2764
- Writing to the General, and Other Aesthetic Strategies of Critique: The Art of León Ferrari as a Practice of Freedom Bell, Vikki. 2012. Writing to the General, and Other Aesthetic Strategies of Critique: The Art of León Ferrari as a Practice of Freedom. Journal of Latin American Cultural Studies, 21(2), pp. 253-285. ISSN 1356-9325
- Contemporary Art and Transitional Justice in Northern Ireland: The Consolation of Form Bell, Vikki. 2011. Contemporary Art and Transitional Justice in Northern Ireland: The Consolation of Form. Journal of Visual Culture, 10(3), pp. 324-353. ISSN 1470-4129
- On Fernando's Photograph: The Biopolitics of Aparicion in Contemporary Argentina Bell, Vikki. 2010. On Fernando's Photograph: The Biopolitics of Aparicion in Contemporary Argentina. Theory, Culture & Society, 27(4), pp. 69-89. ISSN 0263-2764
- New Scenes of Vulnerability, Agency and Plurality: An Interview with Judith Butler Bell, Vikki. 2010. New Scenes of Vulnerability, Agency and Plurality: An Interview with Judith Butler. Theory, Culture & Society, 27(1), pp. 130-152. ISSN 0263-2764
- Book Review: Who Sings the Nation-State?: Judith Butler and Gayatri Spivak Calcutta, New York, Oxford: Seagull Books, 2007, pp. 121 Bell, Vikki. 2009. Book Review: Who Sings the Nation-State?: Judith Butler and Gayatri Spivak Calcutta, New York, Oxford: Seagull Books, 2007, pp. 121. Theory, Culture & Society, 26(5), pp. 151-156. ISSN 0263-2764
- The Haunted Nomos: Activist-Artists and the (Im)possible Politics of Memory in Transitional Argentina Bell, Vikki and Di Paolantonio, Mario. 2009. The Haunted Nomos: Activist-Artists and the (Im)possible Politics of Memory in Transitional Argentina. Cultural Politics, 5(2), pp. 149-178. ISSN 1743-2197
- The Burden of Sensation and the Ethics of Form: Watching "Capturing the Friedmans" Bell, Vikki. 2008. The Burden of Sensation and the Ethics of Form: Watching "Capturing the Friedmans". Theory, Culture and Society, 25(3), pp. 89-101.
- From Performativity to Ecology: On Judith Butler and Matters of Survival Bell, Vikki. 2008. From Performativity to Ecology: On Judith Butler and Matters of Survival. Subjectivity, 25, pp. 395-412. ISSN 1755-6341
- The Politics of Framing: An Interview with Nancy Fraser Nash, Kate and Bell, Vikki. 2007. The Politics of Framing: An Interview with Nancy Fraser. Theory Culture & Society, 24(4), pp. 73-86. ISSN 14603616
- 'Rita Duffy: Cuchulain Comforted' Bell, Vikki. 2007. 'Rita Duffy: Cuchulain Comforted'. Exhibition catalogue essay MCAC: Portadown,
- 'On Wendy McMurdo's 'Wrecks of Scapa'' Bell, Vikki. 2007. 'On Wendy McMurdo's 'Wrecks of Scapa''. FOAM Photography Magazine, 10,
- La promesa del liberalismo y la performance de la libertad Bell, Vikki; Gonzalez, Maria Ana and Grinberg, Silvia. 2007. La promesa del liberalismo y la performance de la libertad. Revista Argentina de Sociologia, 5(9), ISSN 16679261
- 'Painting and Politics: Between Argentina and Northern Ireland. An Essay on Rita Duffy and Daniel Garcia' Bell, Vikki. 2007. 'Painting and Politics: Between Argentina and Northern Ireland. An Essay on Rita Duffy and Daniel Garcia'. CIRCA Art Magazine,
- Special Section: Transnational Public Sphere: The Potential of an "Unfolding Constellation": Imagining Fraser's Transnational Public Sphere Bell, Vikki. 2007. Special Section: Transnational Public Sphere: The Potential of an "Unfolding Constellation": Imagining Fraser's Transnational Public Sphere. Theory, Culture and Society, 24(4), pp. 1-5.
- Performative Knowledge Bell, Vikki. 2006. Performative Knowledge. Theory, Culture and Society, 23(2-3), pp. 214-217. ISSN 0263-2764
- On the Critique of Secular Ethics: An Essay with Flannery O'Connor and Hannah Arendt Bell, Vikki. 2005. On the Critique of Secular Ethics: An Essay with Flannery O'Connor and Hannah Arendt. Theory, Culture and Society, 22(2), pp. 1-27. ISSN 0263-2764
- The Scenography of Suicide: Terror, Politics and the Humiliated Witness Bell, Vikki. 2005. The Scenography of Suicide: Terror, Politics and the Humiliated Witness. Economy and Society, 34(2), pp. 241-260. ISSN 0308-5147
- Out of Conflict: Peace, Change and Justice Campbell, Kirsten and Bell, Vikki. 2004. Out of Conflict: Peace, Change and Justice. Social and Legal Studies, 13(3), pp. 299-304. ISSN 0964-6639
- Spectres of Peace: Civic Participation in Northern Ireland Bell, Vikki. 2004. Spectres of Peace: Civic Participation in Northern Ireland. Social and legal studies, 13(3), pp. 403-428. ISSN 0964-6639
- 'Feminist Thought and the Totalitarian Interloper: On Rhetoric and the Fear of 'Dangerous Thinking'' Bell, Vikki. 2002. 'Feminist Thought and the Totalitarian Interloper: On Rhetoric and the Fear of 'Dangerous Thinking''. Economy & Society, 31(4), pp. 573-587. ISSN 0308-5147
- The Vigilant(e) Parent and the Paedophile: The News of the World Campaign 2000 and the Contemporary Governmentality of Child Sexual Abuse Bell, Vikki. 2002. The Vigilant(e) Parent and the Paedophile: The News of the World Campaign 2000 and the Contemporary Governmentality of Child Sexual Abuse. Feminist Theory, 3(1), ISSN 1464-7001
- 'On Genealogy and Generation: On Levinas, Chaining and the Child' Bell, Vikki. 2002. 'On Genealogy and Generation: On Levinas, Chaining and the Child'. Parallax, 8(3), pp. 19-33. ISSN 1353-4645
- 'Reading Macey, Reflecting on Fanon' Essay and round table discussant of David Macey's Frantz Fanon: A Life (Granta, 2000) Bell, Vikki. 2002. 'Reading Macey, Reflecting on Fanon' Essay and round table discussant of David Macey's Frantz Fanon: A Life (Granta, 2000). New Formations: A Journal of Culture, Theory, Politics, ISSN 0950-2378
- The Violence and the Appeal of Raciologies: Colonialism, Camps and Cosmopolitan Utopias Bell, Vikki. 2002. The Violence and the Appeal of Raciologies: Colonialism, Camps and Cosmopolitan Utopias. Theory, Culture and Society, 19(4), pp. 245-254. ISSN 0263-2764
- On ethics and feminism Reflecting on Levinas’ ethics of non-(in)difference Bell, Vikki. 2001. On ethics and feminism Reflecting on Levinas’ ethics of non-(in)difference. Feminist Theory, 2(2), pp. 159-171. ISSN 1464-7001
- 'Negotiating and Narrating Emplacement: Belonging and Conflict in Northern Ireland' Bell, Vikki. 2001. 'Negotiating and Narrating Emplacement: Belonging and Conflict in Northern Ireland'. New Formations: A Journal of Culture, Theory, Politics, 41, pp. 61-86. ISSN 0950-2378
- The Phone, the Father and Other Becomings: On Households (and Theories) that no longer Hold Bell, Vikki. 2001. The Phone, the Father and Other Becomings: On Households (and Theories) that no longer Hold. Cultural Values, 5(3), pp. 383-402. ISSN 13
- Mimesis as Cultural Survival: Judith Butler and Anti-Semitism Bell, Vikki. 1999. Mimesis as Cultural Survival: Judith Butler and Anti-Semitism. Theory, Culture and Society, 16(2), pp. 133-161. ISSN 0263-2764
- 'Alternative Political Imaginations' Introduction Bell, Vikki; Rose, Nikolas and Barry, Andrew. 1995. 'Alternative Political Imaginations' Introduction. Economy & Society, 24(4), ISSN 0308-5147
Vikki Bell BA PhD
Vikki's interests include transitional justice, cultural theory and questions of aesthetics, ethics and subjectivity.
Staff details
Vikki Bell is the author of four monographs, including Culture and Performance (Bloomsbury, 2007). Widely published in peer-reviewed journals, she has addressed questions of ethics, aesthetics, subjectivity and politics across the social sciences and theoretical humanities. Recently her work has explored cultural-aesthetic aspects of transitional justice in Argentina, where the research has been funded by the Arts & Humanities Research Council, and, in 2015-7, by the Economic & Social Research Council, a project which extended her empirical work to include Chile. Vikki’s most recent book is The Art of Post-Dictatorship: Ethics & Aesthetics in Transitional Argentina (Routledge, 2014). Her recent articles include ‘Entwined Tellings and the Fragility of the Unique: Relating Narratives of Detention and Survival in Pinochet’s Chile’, Third Text (2018) and ‘Between Documentality and Imagination: Five Theses on Curating the Violent Past’ Memory Studies (2018).
Teaching
Vikki Bell is Professor of Sociology at Goldsmiths, University of London. She studied Social & Political Sciences at Cambridge and gained her PhD at Edinburgh University in 1992. She has taught across all levels at Goldsmiths since she joined in 1993, and has convened the MA Critical & Creative Analysis.
She has been a Visiting Scholar at Berkeley, University of California, Yale University, University of Buenos Aires and the International Institute for the Sociology of Law (Oñati, Spain). Vikki is also a Research Associate in the Faculty of Humanities at Universidad de San Martin (Buenos Aires, Argentina).
Publications and research outputs
Book
- The Art of Post-Dictatorship: Ethics and Aesthetics in Transitional Argentina Bell, Vikki. 2014. The Art of Post-Dictatorship: Ethics and Aesthetics in Transitional Argentina. Abingdon: Routledge, a GlassHouse Book. ISBN 9781138100220
- The Skater: Wendy McMurdo Bell, Vikki; Drake, David and Edgar, Lisa. 2009. The Skater: Wendy McMurdo. Cardiff: Ffotogallery. ISBN 978-1872771731
- Culture and Performance: The Challenge of Ethics, Politics and Feminist Theory Bell, Vikki. 2007. Culture and Performance: The Challenge of Ethics, Politics and Feminist Theory. Berg. ISBN 9781845201050
Article
- Documenting Dictatorship: Writing and Resistance in Chile's Vicaría de la Solidaridad Bell, Vikki. 2021. Documenting Dictatorship: Writing and Resistance in Chile's Vicaría de la Solidaridad. Theory, Culture & Society, 38(1), pp. 53-78. ISSN 0263-2764
- ‘Always another breath in my breath’: on Denise Riley, the polyvocality of the subject and poetry Bell, Vikki. 2020. ‘Always another breath in my breath’: on Denise Riley, the polyvocality of the subject and poetry. Feminist Theory, 21(3), pp. 317-329. ISSN 1464-7001
- Presenting the (Dictatorial) Past in Contemporary Argentina: Truth Forums and Arts of Dramatization Bell, Vikki and Paolantonio, Mario Di. 2018. Presenting the (Dictatorial) Past in Contemporary Argentina: Truth Forums and Arts of Dramatization. Social & Legal Studies, 27(5), pp. 572-595. ISSN 0964-6639
Book Section
- On the Making of the Oratorio for the Disappeared: Erika Diettes in conversation with Vikki Bell Bell, Vikki and Diettes, Erika. 2024. On the Making of the Oratorio for the Disappeared: Erika Diettes in conversation with Vikki Bell. In: Maria M. Delgado; Michal Kobialka and Bryce Lease, eds. Staging Difficult Pasts: Transnational Memory, Theatres, and Museums. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 190-206. ISBN 9781032326030
- On Isabelle Stengers’ ‘Cosmopolitics’: A Speculative Adventure Bell, Vikki. 2017. On Isabelle Stengers’ ‘Cosmopolitics’: A Speculative Adventure. In: Alex Wilkie; Martin Savransky and Marsha Rosengarten, eds. Speculative Research: The Lure of Possible Futures. London: Routledge. ISBN 9781138688360
- ‘A Present Moment, More Present: John Berger’s Politics of Intensity’ Bell, Vikki. 2016. ‘A Present Moment, More Present: John Berger’s Politics of Intensity’. In: Yasmin Gunaratnam and Amarjit Chandan, eds. A Jar of Wild Flowers: Essays in Honour of John Berger. London: Zed. ISBN 9781783608799
Edited Journal
- Theory, Culture & Society 2010 Annual Review (double issue) Bell, Vikki, ed. 2010. Theory, Culture & Society 2010 Annual Review (double issue), Theory, Culture & Society, 27(7-8). 0263-2764
- Out of Conflict: Peace, Change and Justice Campbell, Kirsten and Bell, Vikki, eds. 2004. Out of Conflict: Peace, Change and Justice, Social and legal studies, 13(3). 0964-6639
- Performativity and Belonging An Introduction Bell, Vikki, ed. 1999. Performativity and Belonging An Introduction, Theory, Culture & Society, 16(2). 0263-2764
Conference or Workshop Item
- On Graciela Sacco Bell, Vikki. 2022. 'On Graciela Sacco'. In: Graciela Sacco: A Life of Interferences. Ubicua Gallery, London, United Kingdom 2 September 2022.
- 'Foucault, Iran and our Contemporary 'Arab Spring'' Bell, Vikki. 2011. ''Foucault, Iran and our Contemporary 'Arab Spring'''. In: . OECUMENE Project. Invited Seminar on 'Foucault, Iran and our Contemporary 'Arab Spring''. Open University, United Kingdom May 2011.
- ‘Writing to Dictators, Joking with Injustice: Aesthetics of Critique in the Art of León Ferrari' Bell, Vikki. 2011. '‘Writing to Dictators, Joking with Injustice: Aesthetics of Critique in the Art of León Ferrari''. In: seminar series Centre for Iberian and Latin American Visual Studies (CIVALS). Centre for Iberian and Latin American Visual Studies (CIVALS), Birkbeck College, University of London, United Kingdom March 2011.
Digital
- How John Berger Changed Our Way of Seeing Art Gunaratnam, Yasmin and Bell, Vikki. 2017. How John Berger Changed Our Way of Seeing Art.
Edited Book
- Performativity & Belonging Bell, Vikki, ed. 1999. Performativity & Belonging. London: Sage. ISBN 978-0761965237
Report
- Archivos de Violencia: Estudios de casos en América Latina Bell, Vikki; Bernasconi, Oriana; Hernández-García, Jaime and Sosa, Cecilia. 2021. Archivos de Violencia: Estudios de casos en América Latina. Project Report. Goldsmiths, University of London, London.
- Archives of Violence: Case Studies from South America (2021) Bell, Vikki; Bernasconi, Oriana; Hernández-García, Jaime and Sosa, Cecilia. 2021. Archives of Violence: Case Studies from South America (2021). Project Report. Goldsmiths, University of London, London.
- Guidelines and Recommendations on the Registry and Documentation of Forced Disappearances Bell, Vikki; Bernasconi, Oriana; Gomez, Cristina; Hernández-García, Jaime; Jaramillo, Jefferson; Lira, Elizabeth; López, Marisol; Roblez, Mitzi; Rojas, Hugo; Risco, Ana Maria; Ruiz, Jorge and Ruiz, Marcela. 2020. Guidelines and Recommendations on the Registry and Documentation of Forced Disappearances. Project Report. Santiago, Chile
Research Interests
Vikki's research interests include:
- Transitional Justice, especially in relation to Cultural Processes and Concepts of Peace, with specific interests in Northern Ireland, Argentina and Chile
- Contemporary Social and Cultural Theory, with specific interests in the work of Michel Foucault and Hannah Arendt
- Ethics and Aesthetics
- Feminist Theory and the Politics of Difference
- The Concept of Performativity and its Critique
Funded research projects
2018-2020 British Academy Sustainable Development Programme ‘Documentality & Display: Archiving and Curating the Violent Past in Argentina, Chile and Colombia’ PI leading team of four including Research Fellow at Goldsmiths, and partners in Chile and Colombia £290,855.37 (Grant: SDP2@242)
2019-2020 Newton Prize award ‘Documenting the Past for the Sake of the Future’ £200,000. This award was the Chair’s award. Project was chosen unanimously by the Selection Committee chaired by Sir Venki Ramakrishnan. Presented December 2018.
2019-2022 CONICYT, Comisión Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnologíca, Chile. ‘Political Technologies of Memory: Contemporary Uses and Appropriations of Past Human Rights Violations Registry Devices in Chile’ Three year multi-disciplinary research team (PI: Oriana Bernasconi). With Museum of Memory and Human Rights and Human Rights Observatory (Universidad de Diego Portales)
