Rethinking Representation: the Challenge of Non-humans

This article argues that the standard model of political representation mischaracterises the structure of representation. After surveying the classical types of representation and their application to non-humans, the basic nature of representation is shown to have been unduly centred on interests, responsiveness and unidirectional protocols. It proposes a different structure by drawing inspiration from recent scholarship and developments in political philosophy, as well as the representation of non-human actors. It proposes an ontological grounding of representation in ‘irreducible multiplicity’, and a structural analysis based on the concepts of claim and relation. This abstract form of representation can take into account both human and non-human cases, and works to ground different typologies. The relational structure of representation creates interests and preferences, subjects and actors, power dynamics and seemingly immutable identities

The poetic is political….and other notes on engaged scholarship

Instrumental and objectivist logics maintain a hegemonic place in Western scholarship, reasoning skills powerfully equipped to address certain dilemmas even as they may obscure other ways of knowing. In this chapter, we enlarge dominant notions of rationality by offering an aesthetic view of knowledge as vital for engaged communication scholarship. Our interest in aesthetic logics parallels concerns that have led scholars to develop feminist practices of inquiry (e.g., Harding, 1998; Hesse-Biber, 2007), interrogate the aesthetics of representations in West-centric knowledge structures from postcolonial and Subaltern Studies standpoints (e.g., Broadfoot & Munshi, 2007; Dutta, 2007, 2008), focus on autoethnographic and poetic accounts ( e.g., Carr, 2003; Ellingson, 2009), introduce reflexivity and the politics of personhood in the scholarly process ( e.g., Harding, 1991; Reinharz, 1992), and adopt narrative and dialogic understandings of knowledge constructions (e.g., Frank, 2005; Harter, 2005). Loosely coupled, these research trajectories advance alternative rationalities for witnessing and answering salient social issues. We argue for the theoretical and practical incorporation of aesthetic rationalities in engaged scholarship-logics of poss ibility that cultivate individuals \u27 capacities to imagine otherwise. Reimagining scholarly inquiry to reflect and embrace aesthetic logics requires us to rethink our methods of data collection, analysis, and representation and our own roles as researchers and writers . When we resist the art/science dichotomy, opportunities abound for sensemaking and representation that embody aesthetic ways of knowing. Furthermore, rejection of dichotomous thinking opens up possibilities for listening to ways of knowing that lie beyond the realm of Eurocentric knowledge structures (Dutta, in press). Even after the interpretive turn, instrumental and objectivist logics often underlie and sometimes constrain the processes and products of social scientific research (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005). Traditional structures and modes of research offer important but limited conceptualizations of knowing. We can open ourselves to other ways of asking questions that include overt attention to aesthetic sensibilities . We need not reject or abandon traditional modes of research. Instead, we can enlarge the realm of possibilities for what counts as accepted research practices and advance methods for studying the aesthetic nature of communal life (Ellingson, 2009). In this chapter, we develop an understanding of rationality that incorporates imagination, and we explore methodologies that draw on creative sensibilities. We then articul ate the salience of creativity for rendering credible previously subjugated voices, and we articulate its value for engaged communication theory and research

Mixed Feelings. Carl Stumpf's Criticism of James and Brentano on Emotions

This study attempts to situate Carl Stumpf's theory of emotions with regard to that of his teacher, Franz Brentano, and to the sensualist theory of William James. We will argue that Stumpf's theory can be considered an attempt to reconcile James's sensualism, which emphasizes the role of bodily feelings, with what we will call, for the purposes of this study, Brentano's intentionalism, which conceives of emotions as intentional states. Stumpf claims that James's sensory feelings and Brentano's affective intentional states are two sides of the same coin in that they constitute two essential ingredients of a full-fledged theory of emotions. The question is whether Stumpf's ecumenism avoids the objections that he himself raises against James's and Brentano's theories. The paper is divided into four parts: the first part presents Stumpf's classification of psychical functions; the second part presents his criticism of James's theory of emotions; the third part is a summary of Stumpf's complex debate with Brentano on emotions and sensory feelings; the last part examines Stumpf's attempt to incorporate into his theory of affects the phenomenological and intentional aspects of emotions. I conclude with a note on the unity of consciousness

Knowledge practices in design: The role of visual representations as 'epistemic objects'

We use a detailed study of the knowledge work around visual representations to draw attention to the multidimensional nature of `objects'. Objects are variously described in the literatures as relatively stable or in flux; as abstract or concrete; and as used within or across practices. We clarify these dimensions, drawing on and extending the literature on boundary objects, and connecting it with work on epistemic and technical objects. In particular, we highlight the epistemic role of objects, using our observations of knowledge work on an architectural design project to show how, in this setting, visual representations are characterized by a `lack' or incompleteness that precipitates unfolding. The conceptual design of a building involves a wide range of technical, social and aesthetic forms of knowledge that need to be developed and aligned. We explore how visual representations are used, and how these are meaningful to different stakeholders, eliciting their distinct contributions. As the project evolves and the drawings change, new issues and needs for knowledge work arise. These objects have an `unfolding ontology' and are constantly in flux, rather than fully formed. We discuss the implications for wider understandings of objects in organizations and for how knowledge work is achieved in practice

The Art of Engaging: Implications for Computer Music Systems

The art of engaging with computer music systems is multifaceted. This paper will provide an overview of the issues of interface between musician and computer, cognitive aspects of engagement as involvement, and metaphysical understandings of engagement as proximity. Finally, this paper will examine implications for the design of computer music systems when these issues are taken into account

The Cradle of Humanity: A Psychological and Phenomenological Perspective

We present an account of the evolutionary development of the experiences of empathy that marked the beginning of morality and art. We argue that aesthetic and moral capacities provided an important foundation for later epistemic developments. The distinction between phenomenal consciousness and attention is discussed, and a role for phenomenology in cognitive archeology is justified-critical sources of evidence used in our analysis are based on the archeological record. We claim that what made our species unique was a form of meditative and empathic thinking that made large-scale human cooperation possible through pre-linguistic, empathic communication. A critical aspect of this proposal is that the transformation that led to the dawn of our species was not initially driven by semantic or epistemic factors, although clearly, these factors increased the gap between us and other species dramatically later on. Our proposal suggests that recent philosophy of mind and psychology might have "epistemicized" phenomenal consciousness too much by construing it in terms of semantic content rather than by describing it in terms of empathic and meditative thinking. Instead of the prevailing approach, we favor the type of subjectivity that is fundamentally "other-involving" as essential, because on our account, a necessary condition for subjectivity is the empathic understanding of other individuals' psychology, not through inference or judgment, but through immediate conscious engagement

Nursing redefined: emergent insights from studying the art and science of nursing in Germany and Switzerland.

Developments in the Art and Science of Nursing is one module of a Masters degree course organised by Cardiff University, Wales, and taught since the year 2003 in Bavaria, Germany. In an initial intensive two weeks of lectures and other educational activity, the aim of the module is to examine fundamental issues related to the history and development of nursing theory, science and the profession. Pre-conceived ideas are gently challenged. Nursing, knowledge and nursing knowledge is dened and redened. Insights emerge, lost personal motivations are remembered, potentials for the future appear on near and distant horizons. This paper records some of those issues as recounted by the course participants. Insights emerge, lost personal motivations are remembered, potentials for the future appear on near and distant horizons. This paper records some of those issues as recounted by the course participants

Participatory GIS in Mapping Ecosystem Services: Two Case Studies from High-Biodiversity Regions in Italy and Peru

Assessing ecosystem services (ES) and mapping their values are of paramount importance. Here we present two case studies where the participatory mapping of social values of landscape ecosystem services is used in territories with high levels of cultural and biological diversity (Adamello Brenta Natural Park in Italy and the Alto Mayo basin in the Western Amazon, Peru). A mixed-method approach combining social geography fieldwork (participatory mapping) and desk work (GIS analyses) is adopted to improve ES mapping by including multiple actors and to increase awareness. Mapping ecosystem services is not just a technical task; it also highlights social implications of the cartographic process, a key issue in human geography. By taking into account the controversial and multiple roles of maps, and by involving actors in attributing values and mapping their spatial relations to landscape and ES, it is possible to enrich technical knowledge with local knowledge