Political and social power has long been one of the most exciting subjects of social scientists. Social bond, on the other hand has mostly gone unquestioned, as a prerequisite for the existence of community and society. But how can one discuss matters of power and social bond in a postmodern society. Even more, when the problem of postmodernism is to represent the unrepresentable, how can one visualize the decentered nature of social bond?

Community, State and Nation, visualized in their mediatic representations; magnified and idealized or made to look mean in the cinema; crystallized in the distribution of (urban) space, in urban planning and architecture; recorded in the everyday activities of the citizens; outlined in the outsider's imagination; Community, State and Nation, Power and Social Bond, will be the focus of the IVSA 2002 Conference.

The International Visual Sociology Association invites scholars and practitioners from a wide range of fields to join us in examining these issues at our 2002 annual meetings, to be held July 13-18 at the Petros Nomicos Conference Centre (Santorini, Greece), organized by Panteion University, Department of Communication and Mass Media.