Visual Culture Studies, or, an anthropologically oriented 'Bildwissenschaft'? On the directions of iconic turn in cultural sciences

This article analyses the directions taken by the development of interdisciplinary and trans-disciplinary knowledge on image. In the American version, the issues of image are 'merged' in a broader context of visual culture, with the related studies focusing on a critical analysis of our contemporary, new-media manifestations of pictoriality/imagery. The German current highlights, in turn, a historical continuity of iconic issues and their anthropological basis, which may be seen as related to Ernst Cassirer's tradition of philosophy of culture and cultural studies carried out in the Warburg Library circle. Given this general context, the issues dwelled upon as part of Visual Studies gain a deeper historical basis whilst also becoming a constituent of trans-disciplinary research.