Psychogeography and Ground Zero

Abstract

In this paper I want to discuss a psychogeographical project conducted at the main site of the horrific and monstrous September 11th 2001 attacks in New York, U.S.A. I will explain how I made sense of and reflected on my experiences of being at that site as well as conceptualising how I drew on the situationist practice of psychogeographical walking. I will explain how I drew on the work of the situationists and why their ideas of detournement, spectacle and psychogeography are important. In terms of my experience in being at the site of the attacks, I will also discuss core themes of my research including trauma and violence and the limits of words to explain experience. In recent years in my research, I have connected and considered this work in relation to the current memorialization of the Ground Zero site, to current political events (i.e. the ongoing war on ‘terrorism’, the banking crisis, Occupy, and more recently with the Charlie Hebdo events) and in relation to considering how my research in psychology should connect with political practice and social change