Welcome to SOCA 2020: Society, Space and Power
Who Are We?
Who are you?
I will ask you to introduce yourself and I'll pick a question for you.
Who Are We?
Who are you?
I will ask you to introduce yourself and I'll pick a question for you.
This is a LIVE course--meaning that we will meet every week for 12 weeks (excluding semester breaks) for 2 hours.
Some of this will be in the classroom, some on Zoom to maximize interactions with students in the US, some will be outside the classroom.
SOCA 2020 rests on a philosophy. It has 3 parts.
1. Understanding society, space and power is best achieved through critically analyzing landscape--in person, as image, on video, in our imaginations.
2. Comparing landscapes (such as in Austin and Newcastle) deepens our understanding of of society, space and place.
3. Critically analyzing landscape is best done by getting out there and experiencing space, writing about it, sharing these writings, and connecting these to academic writing where applicable.
Images 1 & 2...which looks more fun?
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SHARED GOALS
Practice the ethnographic study of landscape using field visits, images, and written texts;
STOP: What is ethnography/ ethnographic?
Practice the ethnographic study of landscape using field visits, images, and written texts;
STOP: What is ethnography/ ethnographic?
Willis, Paul, and Mats Trondman. "Manifesto for ethnography." Ethnography 1, no. 1 (2000): 5-16.
Robots are bad at ethnography
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Outline the ways that diverse landscapes work together to produce the regions where we live and study;
Design independent research inquiry into landscapes;
Collaborate with diverse (and remote) groups in developing a comparative research agenda for the study of landscapes in distinct regions;
Identify the politics of place-making in two geographically distant regions with shared pasts of indigenous dispossession, resource extraction, and post-industrial reconfiguration;
Improve ability to write and communicate in both academic and non-academic environments
Design independent research inquiry into landscapes;
Collaborate with diverse (and remote) groups in developing a comparative research agenda for the study of landscapes in distinct regions;
Identify the politics of place-making in two geographically distant regions with shared pasts of indigenous dispossession, resource extraction, and post-industrial reconfiguration;
Improve ability to write and communicate in both academic and non-academic environments
As for me,
I am Duncan McDuie-Ra. I am a professor of urban sociology in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. I am also Deputy Head of the college of Human and Social Futures in the research portfolio.
I am an ethnographic researcher who uses various methods from the tried and tested--interviews, observations, document analysis, to the experimental--movement, experiential, sensory.
My research career started in the borderlands of South Asia, where space and power is heavily contested, often violently; and shapes society in deep and lasting ways.
I moved on to research on urban migration out of border regions--working in Delhi--and then cities in border regions and --focusing on Imphal and then Dimapur.
In recent years I have shifted to more experimental ethnographers of space through landscape, especially through subcultures--technology and surveillance, skateboarding and urban media.
You can find out more about my research here:
I am Duncan McDuie-Ra. I am a professor of urban sociology in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. I am also Deputy Head of the college of Human and Social Futures in the research portfolio.
I am an ethnographic researcher who uses various methods from the tried and tested--interviews, observations, document analysis, to the experimental--movement, experiential, sensory.
My research career started in the borderlands of South Asia, where space and power is heavily contested, often violently; and shapes society in deep and lasting ways.
I moved on to research on urban migration out of border regions--working in Delhi--and then cities in border regions and --focusing on Imphal and then Dimapur.
In recent years I have shifted to more experimental ethnographers of space through landscape, especially through subcultures--technology and surveillance, skateboarding and urban media.
You can find out more about my research here:
Key concepts: Landscape and Place
Let's start with Mitchell.
Why this text?
Break into groups. You've got 10 mins. In your groups:
Let's start with Mitchell.
Why this text?
Break into groups. You've got 10 mins. In your groups:
- What does Mitchell mean by his argument about changing landscape from a noun into a verb?
- What, precisely, is he talking about when he argues that landscape is a "medium of exchange" and an expression of (limitless) value?
- How can landscape be "imperial"?
- How do you think we can connect this to society and power?
Cresswell
When I say place what do you think of?
Same groups. 10 minutes.
When I say place what do you think of?
Same groups. 10 minutes.
- What is place?
- How does it differ from space?
- Why is place such a valuable concept for studying society?
Course nuts and bolts...
OPEN OUR CANVAS PAGE!
Any questions?
a. Weekly tasks
b. Synchronous activity
c. Sharing work
d. Experiments [and failures]
e. The course evolves...
f. Assessment
g. Schedule
OPEN OUR CANVAS PAGE!
Any questions?
a. Weekly tasks
b. Synchronous activity
c. Sharing work
d. Experiments [and failures]
e. The course evolves...
f. Assessment
g. Schedule
What is Virtual Exchange?
Global Virtual Exchange is a project the the University of Texas, Austin, one of the top public universities in the USA.
GVE is based on the idea that courses can be enriched by being co-taught between professors in different countries and by having students in these courses interact during class at different times in semester.
Think of it like we have an extra 15 people in our class--who mostly all live in Texas and other states in the southern USA.
We will share tasks and work through ideas together 'live' in class and from time to time we will send material back and forth to discuss.
The course in Texas is called Landscape and Power but it is the same basic course as ours, Society, Space and Power.
We ran this course last year as the first experiment in GVE--and then a few weeks in the pandemic hit!
We managed to keep going, but it was hard to do many of the synchronous activities.
We adapted and ended up having an amazing experience living the pandemic together in two different parts of the world.
Though that was more of a one-off.
There is actually a story about last year's experiment published in the University of Texas magazine. See link below.
Global Virtual Exchange is a project the the University of Texas, Austin, one of the top public universities in the USA.
GVE is based on the idea that courses can be enriched by being co-taught between professors in different countries and by having students in these courses interact during class at different times in semester.
Think of it like we have an extra 15 people in our class--who mostly all live in Texas and other states in the southern USA.
We will share tasks and work through ideas together 'live' in class and from time to time we will send material back and forth to discuss.
The course in Texas is called Landscape and Power but it is the same basic course as ours, Society, Space and Power.
We ran this course last year as the first experiment in GVE--and then a few weeks in the pandemic hit!
We managed to keep going, but it was hard to do many of the synchronous activities.
We adapted and ended up having an amazing experience living the pandemic together in two different parts of the world.
Though that was more of a one-off.
There is actually a story about last year's experiment published in the University of Texas magazine. See link below.
FOR NEXT WEEK:
Go and find a landscape and look at it from a fixed position.
Write about what you see.
For this first exercise, the aim is to stay in a 'fixed position'.
Pick a spot, get comfortable, make observation and notes [don't talk to anyone!]
Spend at least 30 minutes--this is instead of doing another reading!
Also note some of the challenges you are facing.
Think of how you might be able to over come some of these to study this landscape better?
Write up your notes as 300-400 words.
You can take photos too.
Look back at Cresswell if you want some inspo.
Bring to class next week--make sure you have an electronic version to share.
The Emerson reading offers great advice for writing field notes--read it before you start this task.
Next week we ZOOM
Go and find a landscape and look at it from a fixed position.
Write about what you see.
For this first exercise, the aim is to stay in a 'fixed position'.
Pick a spot, get comfortable, make observation and notes [don't talk to anyone!]
Spend at least 30 minutes--this is instead of doing another reading!
Also note some of the challenges you are facing.
Think of how you might be able to over come some of these to study this landscape better?
Write up your notes as 300-400 words.
You can take photos too.
Look back at Cresswell if you want some inspo.
Bring to class next week--make sure you have an electronic version to share.
The Emerson reading offers great advice for writing field notes--read it before you start this task.
Next week we ZOOM
