European Commission logo
italiano italiano
CORDIS - Risultati della ricerca dell’UE
CORDIS

The Sensory Ecology of Water: A Multisensory Anthropological Study of Outdoor Swimming in the Arctic

Descrizione del progetto

Esplorare il nuoto all’aperto per le strategie di benessere globale

Il nuoto all’aperto in Norvegia è strettamente legato al senso di benessere. Durante la pandemia di COVID-19, è emerso come una pratica terapeutica molto apprezzata. Il progetto EcoSENSES, finanziato dal programma di azioni Marie Skłodowska-Curie, adotterà un approccio multidisciplinare per esplorare il concetto di benessere negli ambienti acquatici e la gestione responsabile degli spazi naturali. Combinando elementi di antropologia, etnografia sensoriale qualitativa e analisi del discorso, svelerà le interpretazioni storiche e contemporanee dello svago all’aperto norvegese. La ricerca delineerà il modo in cui le interazioni umane con l’acqua contribuiscono ad arricchire l’esperienza sensoriale. I risultati faranno luce sul potenziale degli ecosistemi a base sensoriale per aumentare l’armonia globale nella gestione delle risorse idriche.

Obiettivo

My project aims to re-think human-more-than-human interconnectedness by examining entangled relationships between arctic waters, the senses, and place. As a community of practice, outdoor swimming in Norway provides a unique lens through which to examine a sharing in the sensible grounded-in holistic planetary wellbeing. Following the global COVID-19 pandemic and wellbeing crisis, practitioners, tourism agencies, and popular media outlets have lauded outdoor swimming as a therapeutic cure for human health, wellbeing, and for a perceived lack of connection to nature. Examining relational notions of wellbeing in blue-spaces, and stewardship of nature in immersive experiences outdoors, generates novel insights into sensory knowledges and the cultural values of waters in rapidly changing arctic climates. In doing so, this project expands the methodological affordances of anthropology by conjoining participant sensation in qualitative sensory ethnography with discourse analysis and close readings, in the pursuit of three objectives: 1) identify historical and contemporary meanings of Norwegian outdoor recreation (friluftsliv) and wellbeing as presented in and related to outdoor swimming; 2) trace how interactions with water and more-than-human others shape the swimming sensorium; and 3) uncover the potential for sensory ecologies to inform planetary conviviality in water management and competency policies. Sensory approaches used in this project may reveal power relations, local forms of water management and wellbeing resilience, the negotiated use of space, and formation of place-attachment. This examination of how the perceived therapeutic healing practice of outdoor swimming can be mobilized to include material and ecological strategies for advancing water security and ensuring quality water sources for all Europeans.

Coordinatore

KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT LEUVEN
Contribution nette de l'UE
€ 191 760,00
Indirizzo
OUDE MARKT 13
3000 Leuven
Belgio

Mostra sulla mappa

Regione
Vlaams Gewest Prov. Vlaams-Brabant Arr. Leuven
Tipo di attività
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Collegamenti
Costo totale
Nessun dato

Partner (1)