Sensory Studies 2026: A State-of-the-Art Review

2026 will mark the 20th anniversary of the launch of The Senses and Society and coining of the term ‘sensory studies.’ The journal was founded by Michael Bull and David Howes (who have alternated in the role of Managing Editor every 3-4 years), and Doug Kahn and Paul Gilroy.

The term ‘sensory studies’ was selected and used in the title of the inaugural article, ‘Introducing Sensory Studies,’ in order to serve as an umbrella term for the multiple subdisciplines that contributed to the genesis of this emergent field of study (e.g. history of the senses, anthropology of the senses, media studies, etc.) and the multiple interdisciplinary fields of inquiry that divide up the sensorium (visual culture, auditory culture (or sound studies), taste cultures, etc.).

The inaugural article advanced a series of tenets, such as ‘the perceptual is cultural and political’ and ‘the senses mediate the relationship between self and society, mind and body, idea and object. The senses are everywhere.’ The editors also envisioned the journal as offering an antidote to the ‘logocentrism and ocularcentrism’ of conventional social scientific accounts of meaning and problematize the increasingly homogenized notion of ‘the body.’

The article concluded with the promise: ‘Readers may expect to find something for or about each of their senses in virtually every issue.’ In this presentation, the editors reflect on our stewardship of the journal and ever-evolving meaning and scope of ‘sensory studies’ as a term of art.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS:

• Michael Bull is Professor of Sound Studies in the School of Media, Arts and Humanities at the University of Sussex.
• David Howes is Distinguished Research Professor, Anthropology at Concordia University, Montreal. Both are widely published.

This event serves as one of the keynote lectures for the Centre for Sensory Studies Conference Uncommon Senses V.