1,721,062 research outputs found
Venturing into the Dark : Gloomy Multiplicities
No full textIn this substantive opening chapter, the underpinning argument of the book is presented, focusing upon how throughout history, especially post-enlightenment, perspectives on light and dark have been held in binary opposition across different cultural understandings, particularly in Western ideology. This longstanding view continues to influence contemporary views on darkness, despite the global onslaught of over-illumination and the malign social, health, environmental and aesthetic affects this continues to perpetrate. However, as we will argue, darkness is invariably situated and relational, and existing limited perspectives negate and ignore the far more subtle and important relationships that span histories, cultural practices, sensory experiences and creative engagements. In providing an overview of the history behind these existing attitudes toward darkness, this chapter will subsequently consider how and why we need to reconsider these reductive accounts by investigating how new perspectives or previously overlooked insights from different cultures and contexts have been recently explored and might be further advanced by scholars. In thereby reframing the concepts and meanings associated with darkness, we will establish a more holistic yet variegated account of our relationships with the dark. The chapter will then account for the interrelationships between the different sections of the book to consolidate an understanding of this emerging multi- and inter-disciplinary field across the arts, humanities and social sciences. In doing so, the introductory chapter will connect and contextualise the original and insightful work that can speak across disciplinary silos whilst retaining a focus on the creative, cultural, and social dimensions to darkness
Dark skies : meanings, challenges, and relationships
Get PDFThis chapter presents the underpinning argument of the book, focusing upon how meanings about dark skies have emerged and relationships them have evolved. In particular, the chapter responds to the significant gap in knowledge across the humanities and social sciences in relation to dark sky places. It explains the importance of new insights and understandings concerning dark skies and their relationships with place, communities, and practices. Contemporary views about darkness are complex and contradictory, despite the global onslaught of over-illumination and the malign social, health, environmental, and aesthetic effects this continues to perpetrate. Dark sky places, as we argue, are invariably situated and relational, and existing limited perspectives negate and ignore the far more subtle and important relationships that span histories, communities, cultural practices, sensory experiences, and creative engagements. By reframing the concepts and meanings associated with dark skies, we establish a more holistic yet variegated account of our relationships with the dark
Revisiting the Dark : Diverse Encounters and Experiences
No full textIn this concluding chapter, we will bring together the theoretical frameworks, methodological approaches and empirical work in order to explain their implications for this emerging multi- and inter-disciplinary subject. The chapter will discuss the variations of darkness and light that co-exist and the different histories, geographies, creative engagements and cultural practices that are informing a multitude of different experiences and representations of darkness. This chapter will also contribute to a better understanding of how artistic and other creative practices can enrich academic theories through fresh perspectives and provide valuable critical accounts for inter-disciplinary research. Further, it will respond to some of the innovative professional approaches included within the book to identify new ways in which we might design with and for darkness, a significantly overlooked field at present. In doing so, this chapter will provide an authoritative account of how and why embracing its potential and developing a much more nuanced and critical understanding of the situated and plural nature of darkness is key to addressing key creative and social issues. Finally, this chapter will conclude by reaffirming the collection’s contribution to knowledge and outlining future research that might be undertaken in the wider context of environmental challenges
Re-thinking Catastrophe in the Time of Climate Change
No full textNature is crazy. Nature is one big catastrophe. (Slavoj Žižek, 2008a).</p
‘The Breath of the Moon’: The Rhythmic and Affective Time-spaces of UK Tides
No full textIn Rhythmanalysis, Henri Lefebvre put forward his ideas on the relationship between time and space, particularly how rhythms characterize space. Here, leading geographers advance and expand on Lefebvre's theories, examining how they intersect with current theoretical and political concerns within the social sciences. In terms of geography, rhythmanalysis highlights tensions between repetition and innovation, between the need for consistency and the need for disruption. These tensions reveal the ways in which social time is managed to ensure a measure of stability through the instantiation of temporal norms, whilst at the same time showing how this is often challenged. In looking at the rhythms of geographies, and drawing upon a wide range of geographical contexts, this book explores the ordering of different rhythms according to four main themes: rhythms of nature, rhythms of everyday life, rhythms of mobility, and the official and routine rhythms which superimpose themselves on the multiple rhythms of the body
Creative approaches to dark skies research: a dialogue between two artist-researchers
Get PDFThough the arts are vital in engaging our imaginations of the night sky, the role and value of arts-based approaches to dark sky research remains underexplored. Our collaborative chapter addresses this through a dialogue between two artist-researchers, whose PhD research is produced in partnership with two UK-based international dark sky parks (IDSPs). Reflecting on our experiences, insights, and challenges, this chapter offers a unique perspective on the creative process in dark sky contexts. We explore how arts-based research can enhance the recreational activity taking place under dark skies and inform practices on the ground whilst also inviting IDSP stakeholders to engage in the creation of novel dark sky research. The chapter closes with a set of critical reflections and propositions for setting up future opportunities for arts-based knowledge creation in dark sky contexts
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