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Apologies for cross-posting…
Dear all,
There are still a number of places
available for the third seminar ‘Senses and Infrastructure’ in the
ESRC funded research seminar series ‘Rethinking the urban experience: the
sensory production of place’. Further details can be found at http://www.sensescapes.co.uk/
or download a booking form http://www.surf.salford.ac.uk/documents/SenseCity/Booking_Form_Sense.pdf.
The first two seminars were a great success with lots of opportunity for lively
discussion.
ESRC Research
Seminar Series
Rethinking
the urban experience: the sensory production of place
Seminar Three: Senses and Infrastructure (Friday 19th October 2007)
The
Smells, Sights, Sounds, Textures and Tastes of Socio- Technical Transitions: An
Exploratory Workshop
The third seminar in the
series focuses on the relations between senses and the socio-technical
infrastructure of everyday life. What if we re-designed infrastructure for all
of our senses? Given the pressure to develop systemic transitions in the social
and technical organisation of energy, water, waste, and transport
infrastructures in response to climate change and resource constraint there is
a need to raise the “visibility” of networks to users. Suppose for
a moment that taste, sound, touch, and odour were treated as the equals of
sight. What would our infrastructure be like if sensory response,
sentiment, and memory were critical design factors, the equals of structure and function? The
Sensory Infrastructure workshop will explore two key themes:
1. Understanding the
politics of infrastructure transitions and the (ambivalent) role of sensory
perceptions – this theme focuses on the role of managed shifts in user
roles in relation to infrastructure systems and the issues involved in
attempting to reshape users sensory perception of infrastructure.
2. Redesigning
infrastructure to enhance and extend sensory perception – this theme will
focus on social groups whose sensory deprivation may constrain their abilities
to effectively interact with conventional infrastructure networks and asks what
it means to redesign infrastructure so that they embrace all our senses.
Booking forms can be downloaded at http://www.surf.salford.ac.uk/documents/SenseCity/Booking_Form_Sense.pdf
or obtained from Vicky Simpson, Research Centre Manager, SURF at [log in to unmask]. See
also http://www.surf.salford.ac.uk/CityRegional/SenseCity.htm
to download the programme and abstracts. Limited funding is available to
contribute towards the travel costs of PhD students and contract researchers.