Ecological Imagination in the Interface of Knowledge Systems
Research period:2024.10-2027.3
YAMANAKA Yuriko
Keywords
ecological imagination , cultural transactions , the imaginary
Objectives
The objective of this research project is to consider from a cross-disciplinary perspective how Eurasian peoples imagined the connection between physical bodies and the environment, world, and universe, in order to make sense out of extraordinary circumstances and matters that are beyond human knowledge . We will do this by applying the theoretical framework based on ecocriticism, which interprets imagination invoked in the reciprocal relationship between the natural environment and humans as “ecological imagination.” Rather than simply practicing cultural relativism, this project will aim to shed light on how the imaginary transforms in the interface of cultures and at paradigm turning points, where differing views of the body and the universe come into contact, by analyzing and comparing specific texts and fieldwork cases.
We will focus particularly on the transition from the pre-modern “spiritual and irrational view” of nature to the modern “quantitative and rational view”, in other words, changes in the ecological imagination in Max Weber’s “disenchantment” process (or the recent reverse of that trend: “re-enchantment”).