Abstract
Global foodscapes, i.e., the connections between place, space, and food, can be fully understood only in conjunction with their temporal ecologies, i.e., the features that influence our relationship with food and include timing, tempo, duration, etc. In the study, special attention is paid to cyclical and linear rhythms as key features of temporal ecologies. To that end, their interrelations are discussed by using the ideas of Henri Lefebvre’s rhythmanalytical project concerned with “‘temporalities and their relations within wholes” (2004, p. 23). Tensions between cyclic rhythms, that originate in nature, and linear rhythms, that come from social practice, take two main forms of interaction: arrhythmia – a dysfunctional relation when the two rhythms actively damage each other, and eurhythmia – a symbiotic relation between the rhythms leading to creativity and innovation. Specific examples of both forms of interaction are given. For instance, overconsumption as a characteristic of global metabolism, i.e., wastefulness and depletion of natural resources (arrhythmia); and the global Slow Food aimed at ensuring good, clean and fair food for all. The dynamics between cyclical and linear rhythms are discussed as constantly searching for homeostasis, or finding the moment of perfect balance (finding ‘home’, as it were) in every human-nature interaction. It is concluded that, while their temporal ecologies may clash, humans and nature in fact share one home, which combines space (place) and time, i.e., is a matter of here-and-now.
Presenters
Igor KlyukanovProfessor, Communication Studies, Eastern Washington University, Washington, United States Galina Sinekopova
Professor, Communication Studies, Eastern Washington University, Washington, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Foodscape, Temporal, Ecology, Rhythmoanalysis
