Re-patterning Seasonal Cultures
What influence do seasonal cultures exert on contemporary societies across diverse regions worldwide? How are these cultures adapting to shifting seasonal patterns and impacting our daily routines and behaviors? What occurs when varying seasonal frameworks come into contact, clash, or synchronize? Moreover, how can we reshape our seasonal cultures to serve as adaptable repertoires for addressing the intersecting societal challenges we currently confront?
These inquiries have been at the core of the CALENDARS research project of Bergen University (Norway). Parallel to the CALENDARS project, and inspired and incited by it, Marjolein Pijnappels started the research project Re-syncing Humans to Habitat, exploring the different ways humans can relate to the natural environment of which they are an integral part.
Part of the CALENDARS project is the creation of an edited popular science volume 'Changing Seasonality', comprising 35 chapters from authors worldwide, including Marjolein Pijnappels. Additionally she worked on a special issue for peer reviewed journal Science and Society with members of the CALENDAR project and gave the keynote presentation How Ecological Calendars could Guide our Modern World at the symposium Re-patterning Seasonal Cultures in september at Bergen University.
Exploring ecological calendars, most notably those of the peoples of the Pamir Mountains and the island of Pongo no Tao, Marjolein envisions pathways to future modern societies living attuned to ecological and geological cycles and time scales.
This exploration has resulted in a short, speculative story about ‘Maaskant’ a floating future society in the south of the Netherlands. Read a preview here.