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Paper short abstract

Through photography, thermal cameras, and participatory approaches, this presentation explores the phenomenological experience of heat in Marseille, revealing the sociotechnical dynamics and thermal inequalities shaping urban life in two marginalized neighborhoods highly exposed to heatwaves.

Paper long abstract

This proposal is part of a multimodal ethnography of thermoceptive experience conducted in Marseille since 2023. At the intersection of the anthropology of thermoception, sensory anthropology, and multimodal anthropology, I examine how residents of Belsunce and Les Crottes—two impoverished neighborhoods highly exposed to both heatwaves and cold spells—perceive and experience heat.

The research combines participatory methods, including photographic workshops and photovoice activities, with experimental devices designed to capture the affective dimension of thermal experience. It also analyzes the roles of gender, class, and race relations in shaping thermoceptive realities (Starosielski 2021; Venkat 2020; Hobart 2022).

Building on previous experiences in multimodal fieldwork (Leon-Quijano 2022), I have developed a multimodal approach to thermoception using various media and techniques, such as thermal cameras, disposable cameras, and anthotype printing. These tools allow for a nuanced exploration of the experiential, affective, unequal, often contradictory, and shifting dimensions of urban thermal experience.

In this presentation, I propose to explore a series of materials produced through this research by focusing on the analysis of one object featured in the book Strata: Unruly Ethnographies of Troubled Worlds (https://stratabook.net/). The aim is to examine the ecological and sociotechnical assemblages that shape critical experiences of heat in a city marked by deep inequalities, rapid transformation, and significant gentrification pressures. Building on this analysis, the presentation explores diverse approaches to thermoception, adopting a creative perspective to broaden the scope of phenomenological approaches in the anthropology of thermal experience (e.g. Vannini et Taggart 2014; Ingold 2007).