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- Convenors:
-
Rosabelle Boswell
(Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University)
Elena Perez-Alvaro (Nelson Mandela University)
Pedro Pombo (Malta University)
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- Format:
- Panel
- Location:
- G22
- Sessions:
- Tuesday 25 June, -
Time zone: Europe/London
Short Abstract:
The Ocean Economy is a critical sector for socioeconomic development and ecological sustainability. What is the role of anthropology in this sector and how can anthropological knowledge and method be leveraged to advance education that is critical, inclusive and sustainable in this sector?
Long Abstract:
The Ocean Economy is a critical and rapidly growing sector worldwide. It is discussed as important to national socioeconomic development and global ecological sustainability. The proposed panel will seek to interrogate the role and place of anthropology in advancing education and knowledge that is inclusive and sensitive to both ocean management and human development. The panelists will draw on historical and more recent discussions on the meaning and place of the ocean in human imagination and culture to debate the ways in which an anthropology of the ocean can yield educational wisdom for sustainable 'blue futures'. We perceive the latter to involve both ecological sustainability and social care. The panel is inspired by the work of Ellen Melloy's Anthropology of Turquoise, which offers a sensory account of humans with nature and the knowledge which may be gained from a more embodied engagement with the ocean and coast. It is also inspired by posthuman and transmaterial theories of human-nature entanglements and the need to arrive at a more holistic and inclusive proposition for ocean management education. The panelists will offer case studies from Africa and Europe.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Tuesday 25 June, 2024, -Paper short abstract:
This paper aims to share research findings on the transformative impacts of sail training experiences on young participants, emphasizing the enhancement of their relationship with nature within the ocean environment.
Paper long abstract:
Exploring the ocean's significance in sail training is crucial for shaping Blue Futures. A comprehensive approach to altering our relationship with the ocean involves immersing oneself in it. This transformation occurs during experiences on traditional sailing vessels, which not only foster maritime skills but also cultivate awareness of the ocean's condition and our impact on it. These voyages often serve dual purposes, collaborating with research institutions.
In my dissertation, "Sailing Through Life: Experiencing Difference within Mutuality Aboard Tall Ships" (Pijoan, 2020), I take an anthropological stance to examine how an education focused on attending to the ocean as a novel perceptual environment influences young participants encountering such experiences for the first time. The study sheds light on the transformative effects on the lives of these trainees, observing how their habitation and relationship with the ocean's rhythms and tempo contribute to a realization that, contrary to terrestrial assumptions, humans do not control nature; rather, they are subject to its forces. This newfound respect for nature, nurtured in the cradle of the sea, underscores the significance of engaging with the materiality of the sea in propelling and supporting solutions for safeguarding our oceans within the framework of blue futures.
Paper short abstract:
This paper explores the freediving practice in Dahab, Sinai Peninsula as an intersubjective way of knowing the world in which the freediver cultivates comfort with oneself, others and the sea as milieu.
Paper long abstract:
This paper is a vignette of my dissertation fieldwork on freediving practice in Dahab, Sinai, Egypt. My research addresses how freedivers in Dahab find comfort in interacting with the sea, the ontological disruption of entering the milieu of sea from the perspective of terrestrial creatures, and finding comfort in/ through this disruption. I am looking at the embodied departures from land-centred narrative freedivers go through by being-at-sea through. I'm also providing new insight for anthropological understandings of moral experiences centering on a variety of intersubjective moral experiences in which humans organically be-together otherwise; one that does not mainly take place with conversation, or some form of conversation --- what do freedivers learn from the sea and how does the experiences of being-at-sea impact their perception of life on land? Additionally, from situating my research from the standpoint of what is usually considered as a leisure and athletic activity – the practice of freediving – I’m adding to a literature on body and embodiment outside of areas in which phenomenological concepts have already proven effective such as those of healing (Csordas, 1990), sorcery (Kapferer, 1997); ritual (Taussig, 1993); spirit possession and trance (Halliburton, 2005).
Paper short abstract:
An educational marine area is a coastal maritime zone managed by primary school pupils that are designed to raise awareness among the younger generations in order to protect the marine environment.This paper will explore two case studies one from the Reunion Island and the other one from Madagascar.
Paper long abstract:
An Educational Marine Area (EMA) is a relatively new environmental educational tool established in 2012 in the Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia) and implemented subsequently in mainland France and outermost regions witnessing a great success. Within the EMAs, the main actors are children who actively participate in educational projects set up locally by teachers in connection with the French national education programs with the aim of educating children about the marine environment and making them responsible for their future actions. Three main topics are at the very heart of the EMAs: getting to know the sea, exchanging with professionals and managing the coastal zone. This presentation builds on the research results of AQUAMARINE project and will mainly focus on the Reunion Island and Madagascar case study. The qualitative research methods employed during the research process were used not only to understand and analyze « what » people, children, teachers, environment officers, politicians think about EMAs but also « why » they think in that particular way and for what reasons they are actively implied in the management of an educational marine area. Are EMAs a new way of “re-connecting” children to the marine environment, to fight 'environmental generational amnesia" or a new way of “empowering” children to engage with the ocean?
Paper short abstract:
Lüderitz Blue School is a not-for-profit school with a 'blue vision', incorporating Ocean Literacy into its curriculum and extramural program. Located where the ocean meets the desert in the historical town of Lüderitz, the school aims to act as a lighthouse for learning and opportunity in Namibia.
Paper long abstract:
Established in 2022 and opened in 2023, Lüderitz Blue School is a not-for-profit international school, following the UK/Cambridge curriculum adapted to a local context. The school has a 'blue vision', incorporating Ocean Literacy into its curriculum of academic subjects and offering standalone Ocean Education and Culture (OEC) lessons.
The school also runs a full program of extramural activities which are open to children from the whole town. Many of these activities are ocean-focussed, such as our weekly Benguela Robotics Lab and Oceans Day sessions. Every Oceans Day, children interact with all aspects of the ocean through exploration and experience, and are exposed to different industries, role models and activities to inspire and educate them.
Located where the ocean meets the desert in the historical town of Lüderitz, the school aims to act as a lighthouse for learning and opportunity for children and communities in Namibia, and as a focal point for Ocean Education in Namibia and beyond.
Paper short abstract:
The presentation discusses the Blue Values Journey, a multidisciplinary project that advances ocean literacy and environmental education via anthropological research and community involvement.
Paper long abstract:
Environmental education is becoming more diverse and anthropology has a key role to play in diversifying it, and ensuring cultural inclusivity. The paper to be presented discusses the Blue Values Journey, a multidisciplinary project that advances multilevel ocean literacy in Africa. The argument is that ocean literacy is a multifaceted proposition that can benefit from anthropological fieldwork. The latter provides access to local communities and to what Pnina-Cabral (2014) calls, diverse forms of 'worlding' and to what Vivieros de Castro (1998) calls 'radical perspectivism'. The Blue Values Journey project is implemented in coastal South Africa and Namibia. It brings researchers, students and individuals from the private sector into contact and communication with indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs), where they are able to listen to local stories and experience cultural 'settings' in person. The premise of the project is that, it is through a visceral, in-person encounter with supposed 'difference', that people from other social worlds can learn to appreciate and understand local valuation of the ocean and coast. The encounter may assist in resolving differences in opinion regarding ocean management. The Blue Values Journey presentation will visually showcase the outputs used to advance education regarding the ocean.
Paper short abstract:
Recognizing and valuing underwater cultural heritage can enhance a sense of cultural identity for communities with historical ties to the sea. It provides insights into past human interactions with the oceans fostering an appreciation for marine ecosystems and the need for their protection.
Paper long abstract:
Underwater cultural heritage refers to submerged artifacts, structures, and sites that hold historical, cultural, or archaeological significance. Preserving this heritage is crucial for understanding human history and the development of societies.
Oceans should be understood as a complex set of sites, landscapes, and narratives that involve multiple players and perspectives centered not only on trade, leisure, and energy but also on subsistence, regional development, and belief systems. Consequently, the remains of the activities in the oceans, what we understand as underwater cultural heritage, include cultural and natural tangible as well as intangible cultural heritage, human remains, practices, and oral histories.
This presentation will study how and why the consideration of underwater cultural heritage is a key piece to reach a sustainable blue future. The presentation will explore the importance of this submerged knowledge for the countries’ identity and the necessity of protecting it as an integral heritage, a heritage where natural, cultural, and intangible heritage can be understood as just one.