The Blase and the Adventure - Seachange Through Simmel

The aim of this paper is to not engage thoroughly with the Australian movement that has been loosely termed as Seachange, but rather, it is to critically engage with data emerging from this phenomenon using social theoretical perspective from Georg Simmel. The reason for proceeding with this analysis is to provide further credence to the already well acknowledged brilliance of Simmel’s social theory. Furthermore, by doing so, we will be see that this author’s work is more than useful for examining the movements of post/late/high modernity. This is perhaps largely due to the ability of Simmel’s theory to transcend boundaries between disciplines and provide a ‘variety of theoretical perspectives’ (Featherstone, 1991, p2). However, further to this, Simmel’s sociology appears to have an uncanny ability to correspond with much of what is being written on the subject of the aesthetic postmodern culture in contemporary times. Such comparison advocated Simmel’s title as a ‘postmodernist in advance of the discourse’ (Weinstein and Weinstein, 1991, p152). It is not the case of this paper to engage deeply in such a discourse, rather, the simple purpose is to illustrate effectively the deepness of Simmel’s analysis which provides him with the aforementioned title. By using interview data collected by the author himself and through another project run by Dowling (2004), it will be shown that Simmel’s work in the area of the metropolis and leisure, provides sufficient and engaging analysis of Seachange

Consuming space slowly: reflections on authenticity, place and the self

Slow living may not necessarily be limited to particular places, but there are, nonetheless, certain kinds of spaces that best facilitate slow living and the value of these arises from a consideration of their contexts in the deterritorialised global culture in which we live. (Parkins and Craig 2006, p.26

Elementary forms of place in seachange

The recent migratory movement known as Seachange is investigated in this article through the concept of place. Using Smith’s ‘Elementary Forms of Place’ model as a guide, and textual/media analysis coupled with qualitative research as examples, it is argued that the Seachange narrative is constructed on a dichotomous relationship to the city. While metropolitan areas are perceived as dull, stressful and degrading, the country and beach are sacralized through narratives of peace, quiet and serenity. Furthermore, the Seachange locales are also considered as places entrenched in the past, invoking aesthetics of traditional community values. Yet the sacralization of Seachange places is threatened by counter-narratives such as gentrification, commodification and sustainability issues which degrade the attractiveness of the locale