Landscapes of Future Past: Intention + Intervention

2019

Landscape Journal, 2011

2016

Landscape Journal, 2011

Revue internationale de psychologie sociale, 2015

European countries are at the forefront of a veritable energy transition: a long-term transformation that not only involves normative and technical disruptive changes, but additionally, thorough cultural and psychological shifts (Araujo, 2014; Dunlap, 2008; Sarrica, Brondi, Cottone, & Mazzara, in press). Surveys record this process of transformation, revealing a rise in positive attitudes and a general consensus towards the use of renewable energy technologies, as well as explicit or implicit agreement on the need for change (Cicia, Cembalo, Del Giudice, & Palladino, 2012). Psychosocial research in this domain largely shows the importance of individual and group processes in fostering or hindering sustainable energy behaviours (Gifford, 2007; Steg, Perlaviciute, & Van Der Werff, 2015). Shared meanings, worldviews, and human understanding of energy systems have also been deemed important in understanding significant behaviours in the energy arena (Stern, 2011; 2014). Nevertheless, there still seems to be a lack of research addressing energy issues “as a product of social and cultural factors on collective rather than individual terms” (Sovacool, 2014, p.26). Social representations theory (SRT) has the potential to fill this gap. In fact “the key contribution of this approach lies in exploring the processes by which people come to a shared understanding of the social world and how this relates to their possibilities for action within the world” (Elcheroth, Doise, & Reicher, 2011, p.730; see also Doise & Staerklé, 2002). Indeed, SRT has proven to be particularly useful in gaining understanding of shared sets of beliefs, values, knowledge, and practices related to environmental and sustainability issues [1] (Castro, 2015; Rouquette, Sautkina, Castro, Félonneau, & Michel-Guillou, 2005). In particular, past research has examined representations of energy, energy system and its users fostered by politicians and the press (Brondi, Armenti, Cottone, Mazzara, & Sarrica, 2014; Cotton & Devine-Wright, 2012; Sarrica, Brondi, & Cottone, 2014; Stern & Aronson, 1984). Additionally, it looks at how the acceptance of renewables is affected by local systems of meanings, affects and practices related to environment, place, technologies, environment etc. (e.g. Batel & Devine-Wright, 2015/in press; Devine-Wright & Howes, 2010; Sarrica & Mazzara, 2012). The current study extends this research activity by looking at the figurative components of the representations of sustainable energy. In particular, we consider images extracted through visual data (Reavey, 2011) and verbal reports in order to identify different facets of SRs (Bauer & Gaskell, 1999; de Rosa & Schurmans, 1990) and to examine how SRs of sustainable energy are culturally and contextually situated (Castro, 2015). In this study, photos sent by Italian professional and semi-professional photographers to competitions on the topic of “sustainable energy” were submitted to a content analysis in order to identify recurrent patterns and shared images. Subsequently, a selection of photographs was used in four small group semi-structured discussions in order to examine whether the same contents were recognised, what other images were evoked, and how participants used photographs in their interaction. However, before presenting the study in detail, we first introduce the functions that images can play in SRs research, and present previous explorations of images in the field of sustainable energy. [1] It should be noted that the writings on the relationship between society and nature, and environmentalism are also one of Moscovici’s legacies (Moscovici, 2002).

DRS2018: Catalyst, 2018

Forthcoming in Science as Culture, special issue on Infrastructuring Environments

Integrating renewable energy sources into the power grid and ensuring public interest in energy is a key concern in many countries. What role may art play, and what political strategies do artists employ, in order to intervene in the infrastructuring of energy and public environments? As the case study here, a Copenhagen art and energy competition invited artists and designers from around the world to submit ideas for large-scale public artworks that can generate utility-scale renewable energy. The competition process had a smooth and consensus-seeking political strategy, manifested in a set of tactical oscillations. In order to engage with local stakeholders and ensure the success of the competition, the project managers oscillated between presenting the competition as part of existing policy initiatives and as posing alternatives to existing policy. They oscillated between being situated in a pragmatic present and in an unprecedented future; between being tied to the specific site of the competition and belonging to no place in particular; and not least between being predominantly an art project and primarily an infrastructure project. Remarkable differences between cosmopolitics and smooth politics appear here, especially compared to the literature analysing the roles played by art and design when imagining new ways of living with energy. Oscillation between smooth politics and cosmopolitics may provide a generative way forward for actors wishing to engage in the infrastructuring of environments.

One of the main drivers of landscape transformation has been our demand for energy. We refer to the results of such transformations as "energy landscapes". This paper examines the definition of energy landscapes within a conceptual framework, proposes a classification of energy landscapes, and describes the key characteristics of energy landscapes that help to define an over-arching typology of origins and expressions. Our purpose is to inform scholarly discourse and practice with regard to energy policies, decision-making processes, legal frameworks and environmental designs. We exam the existing literature, provide a critical perspective using imagery from the USA and Europe, and combine the disciplinary perspectives of geography and landscape architecture. We propose three main characteristics that contribute to the development of a typology: (1) Substantive qualification: General types of energy landscapes distinguished by dominating energy source; (2) Spatial qualification: The appearance of energy landscapes, ranging from distinct spatial entities to less recognizable subsystems of the larger environment; and (3) Temporal qualification: The degree of permanence of energy landscape ranging from relatively dynamic to permanent. Addressing these and a growing number of associated questions will promote more thoughtful protection of the landscapes we inherit while paying closer attention to the relationships between ourselves and the landscapes that surround us.

Introduzir a/o graduanda/o em História nas novas “ferramentas” de informática e recursos de mídias digitais disponíveis no campo dos estudos históricos, bem como suas repercussões teóricas na Historiografia. Apresentar: a história da computação e da Internet, bem como seus impactos teóricos e práticos no campo da História; programas básicos: (processadores de texto, planilhas eletrônica, sites etc.).

Історична правда, 2024

Міністерство освіти і науки України опублікувало на своєму офіційному сайті проєкт наказу "Про державну атестацію наукових установ та закладів вищої освіти в частині провадження ними наукової діяльності". Кожний, хто має зауваження або пропозиції може до 17 травня 2024-го адресувати їх на електронну пошту МОН. У мене є зауваження, але хочу звернутися з ними не в міністерство, а до громадськості з ґвалтом: йдеться про життя або смерть вітчизняної науки!