Creating Earth Futures: Exploring GeoHumanities Approaches to Global Environmental Change

最近发表在《自然：气候变化》（Castree et al. 2014）上的一篇文章问道，什么样的全球环境变化研究将为什么样的地球未来服务？换句话说，它质疑了研究界应该使用的问题和方法，以发展理解和面对地球环境系统中持续和不确定的变化所带来的挑战所需的知识。这篇论文指出，科学界面临的来自全球环境变化（以下简称GEC）的挑战既是一个复杂的研究问题，需要超越科学的多种视角，也是一个迫切的问题，需要弥合知识与行动之间的差距。其作者提出的解决方案是更积极地参与社会科学和人文学科的研究视角。尽管他们指出，GEC研究确实认识到跨学科的价值，但他们发现，目前的领域建立在有限的社会科学概念基础上，实际上忽视了人文学科。该奖学金的目的是调查和促进GEC研究中艺术和人文方法的价值。它这样做不仅是为了维护这些方法的价值，也是作为被称为地球人文学科的跨学科领域更广泛发展的一部分。地球人文学科不是一个新领域，但近年来，艺术和人文学科的学术和实践与地理对环境、地点和社区的跨学科关注相结合。当前地球人文学科工作的关键是创造性的研究方法，即产生艺术和/或使用基于艺术的研究方法来生成“数据”。这可能包括，例如，一个地理艺术家制作声音地图来探索海平面上升的影响，或者发展以社区为基础的参与性写作和表演研讨会，以探索当地的洪水经历和水与公民身份的问题。虽然不像医学人文学科或环境人文学科那样成熟，但通过编辑的文集、新期刊和一系列活动、研究项目和中心，地球人文学科正日益成为一个正式的研究领域。然而，到目前为止，它缺乏在更成熟的领域中发现的批判性评论和战略性反思。作为回应，该奖学金旨在推动地球人文学科在其发展的关键时刻，它将通过探索艺术和人文学科方法的价值，特别是创造性研究方法，来实现这一目标。该奖学金将通过三个工作项目来提供：1)地理人文民族志：对GEC创造性方法的民族志研究，包括在全球北方和南方的项目，以及作为奖学金一部分的艺术家驻留项目。2)网络地球人文：一个在线论坛和一系列活动，旨在在研究社区内外发展急需的GEC创造性方法的倡导。这包括组织一系列早期职业合作，以支持下一代学者和从业者在该领域开发新的创意项目。3)地球人文：探索受众参与的创造性GEC方法，以及公众对这些方法的倡导。与两个奖学金伙伴（一个与GEC合作的艺术机构和一个研究网络机构）合作，这些活动将；a)在GEC创造性研究方法的形式和重要性方面发挥智力领导作用；通过创造对话空间，在学院内外倡导创造性研究方法；c)响应关于GEC创造性方法对公众影响的证据基础的广泛呼吁。这些活动将形成GEC和新兴的跨学科领域的研究议程。并在学院内外倡导这样的议程。

A recent article in 'Nature: Climate Change' (Castree et al. 2014) asked what kinds of global environmental change research for what sorts of earth futures? In other words it queried the questions and methods the research community should use to develop the knowledge required to understand and face the challenges posed by ongoing and uncertain changes in the earth's environmental systems. The paper notes challenges the science community face from global environmental change (hereafter GEC) as both a complex research problem requiring multiple perspectives beyond those of science, and as a pressing issue that demands the gap between knowledge and action be closed. The solution its authors proposed was a more robust engagement with social science and humanities research perspectives. While they note that GEC research does recognise the value of interdisciplinarity, they find the current field to be based on limited conceptions of social science and to virtually ignore the humanities.The aim of this fellowship is to investigate and promote the value of arts and humanities approaches to GEC research. It does so not only to assert the value of these approaches, but also as part of the wider advancement of the interdisciplinary field known as the GeoHumanities.GeoHumanities is not a new field, but recent years have seen a convergence of arts and humanities scholarship and practice with geography's interdisciplinary concerns with environment, place and community. Key to current GeoHumanities work are creative research approaches that either produce art and/or use arts based research methods to generate 'data'. This might include, for example, a geographer-artist generating sound maps to explore the effects of sea-level rise or the development of community-based participatory-writing and performance workshops to explore local flood experiences and questions of water and citizenship.While not as established as the fields of Medical Humanities or Environmental Humanities, GeoHumanities is becoming an increasingly formalized research terrain through edited collections, a new journal and a series of events, research projects and centers. As yet however, it lacks the critical commentary and strategic reflection found within more established fields. In response, this fellowship is designed to advance the GeoHumanities at a crucial point in its evolution and it will do so though exploring the value of arts and humanities approaches, specifically creative research approaches, to GEC research.The fellowship will be delivered through three work packages of activities:1)GeoHumanities Ethnographies: Ethnographic research on creative approaches to GEC, including projects in the global north and south and an artist residency instigated as part of the fellowship.2)Networking GeoHumanities: An online forum and series of events designed to develop much-needed advocacy of creative approaches to GEC within and beyond that research community. This includes organising a series of early career collaborations to support the next generation of scholars and practitioners to develop new creative projects in this field. 3)GeoHumanities At Large: An exploration of audience engagement with creative approaches to GEC, and public advocacy for these approaches.Working with two fellowship partners (an arts organisation engaged with GEC and a research networking organisation) these activities will;a) generate intellectual leadership on the form and import of creative research approaches to GECb) advocate for creative research approaches within and beyond the academy by creating spaces for dialogue c) respond to widespread calls for an evidence base around the effects of creative approaches to GEC on their publics Together these activities will shape research agendas in GEC and in the emerging interdisciplinary field of the GeoHumanities, and advocate for such agendas within and beyond the academy.