Paper short abstract:

This article explores embodied practises of wellbeing and rhizomatic resistance by applying posthumanist and beyond-representational theory to ethnographic, visual and sound data on therapeutic sensescape experiences of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.

Paper long abstract:

This article explores the sensory and embodied experiences of wellbeing within place for asylum seekers and refugees, using the therapeutic sensescape concept. It applies beyond-representational and posthumanist theory to observational, visual and sound data from two studies conducted in the North West of the UK. The first is an ethnography of an urban allotment, attended as an enrichment activity by refugees and asylum seekers, and a participatory photovoice project, including soundscaping and walking interviews, exploring refugee and asylum seekers self-representation of place, belonging and citizenship. The data is organised around three themes: Embodied presence and the capacity for the body to be affected; Sensory nostalgia and transnationalism and In, and of, nature. Through this data I will discuss two questions. Firstly, what role does the sensory and embodied play in urban encounters of place-based wellbeing for refugee and asylum seekers? Secondly, by drawing on post-structural theories of power and rhizomatic resistance, I consider in what ways do therapeutic sensescape experiences act as a site for contestation? The article offers new insights into how we define and understand ‘wellbeing’ as well as the links between wellbeing, the body and resistance.