Situating Graffiti
Research Field J
Over the past twenty years, the study of graffiti has evolved into a booming field, attracting scholars from archaeology, epigraphy, social history, social anthropology, art history, and other backgrounds. The advent of robust digital technologies for recording, storage, and publishing, combined with the ‘social turn’ in historical studies, has sparked global interest in graffiti – written artefacts once regarded merely as marginalia in the field of Roman epigraphy. Today, graffiti are recognised as a remarkable cultural phenomenon, widespread in many contemporary and past societies around the globe. However, while the number of studies highlighting the universality of graffiti in both time and space is growing, a truly comparative synthesis of the topic remains elusive.
‘Situating Graffiti’ (Research Field J) was established in 2022 to bring together CSMC researchers who approach the study of graffiti as a global phenomenon, exploring its cultural variables and constants, and honing methodological principles to set a foundation for comparative and cross-cultural research that can enhance our understanding of the human propensity to leave written traces wherever they set foot. Our work reflects two key principles: 1) historical and contemporary graffiti practices are inextricable and must be studied together; and 2) to fully understand graffiti practices, we must place them not only in a historical context but also in a truly global perspective. Highlighting graffiti cultures from previously neglected or understudied areas is a crucial part of our mission.
Our comprehensive approach to studying graffiti is exemplified in our book Graffiti Scratched, Scrawled, Sprayed: Towards a Cross-Cultural Understanding (De Gruyter, 2023). In addition to fourteen contributions spanning Asia, Africa, Europe, and America, the book features an introductory essay ‘Towards a Cross-Cultural Understanding of Graffiti: Terminology, Context, Semiotics, Documentation’, which lays out some of the conceptual work by members of RFJ. Our other activities include co-organising the Hamburg edition of the conference ‘Tag: Name Writing in Public Space’ (2023), a roundtable discussion ‘Documenting Graffiti Past and Present: Disparate Traditions, Shared Objectives’ (2023), and the recent workshop ‘The Calligraphy of Tagging’ with the foremost specialist on tagging, Javier Abarca (2024).
Spokesperson: Ondrej Skrabal