Intermediality: Axis of Relevance

Over the past twenty years, the concept of intermediality has emerged as a strategic response that has sought to bypass some of the ills that have plagued the university as an institution. Indeed, defined as the study of “nodes of relations, of relationship movements slow enough to seem immobile” (Méchoulan), intermediality as an approach has helped fight against the hyper-specialization of research in the humanities. By conceiving of relationships (as opposed to media forms also under investigation) as paramount, it has made it possible to view as counterintuitive the fragmented approach to the real and its representations. Thereby, the social and cultural environment has been relocated to the center of analyses pertaining to literature, film, theater, the visual arts, and digital productions. In such cases, intermediality is a tool that is placed in the service of a comparativist and multidisciplinary approach to research (Mueller). As a concept, then, it is not thought of as the property of specific objects, but as a shift in perspective on the part of scholars.