ESfO - European Society for Oceanists
Experiencing Pacific Environments
11th Conference of the European Society for Oceanists (ESfO) to be held at the Ludwig-Maximilians- Universität Munich, Germany, 29 June 2017 – 02 July 2017
People in Oceania experience diverse life-worlds undergoing profound transformations. Migration, ur- banisation, religious movements, resource extraction, and climate change, as well as new technologies like the internet and mobile phones, are just some of the recent changes that are reconfiguring Pacific environments. Pacific lives have always featured mobilities, networks and relatedness, but the con- temporary era lends these experiences new qualities and meanings. Experiencing Pacific environments presents new research challenges: How are Pacific life-worlds created and experienced through inter- actions between human and other-than-human entities? How are experiences and environments re- constituted in times of spatial and temporal reconfigurations?
The theme of the 11th conference of the European Society for Oceanists encourages participants to discuss these questions by examining the concrete empirical realities of the Pacific. We propose view- ing these human and other-than-human ‘experiences’ as embedded in, and lived in relation to, specific ‘environments’. The ‘environment’ is understood in its broadest sense – encompassing land, water, climate, material things, social, political, and economic formations and spaces, or architectural set- tings, engineered landscapes and urban worlds. In what ways are these environments specifically ‘Pa- cific’, and are there ‘Pacific’ ways of experiencing environments? To address these questions, the cul- tural-geographic label ‘Pacific’ is broadened beyond the territorial confines of Oceania to include Pa- cific interventions and presences in other contexts and regions such as through film, media, museums, performative arts, tourism, or trade and political relations.
We aim to produce innovative insights into experiences of Pacific environments, and to contribute to an adjustment and refinement of our analytical lenses and vocabularies. With this goal in mind, we invite interdisciplinary dialogues between anthropology, art history, archaeology, biology, geography, history, linguistics, media studies, political science, and other fields; and we specifically invite artistic contributions, such as films and video installations, that will contribute to a wider dialogue between the arts and academia. With this conference, we hope to shape a better understanding of Pacific life- worlds, and, through this, to make a meaningful impact upon academic theory building and political decision-making. Pacific environments and Pacific experiences, diverse and transformed, homely or risky, are in question.
Keynotes: Chris Ballard, Frederick Errington, Nicholas Evans, Deborah Gewertz, Manuka Henare, Mymy Kim, Michael Mel, Ralph Regenvanu, Huhana Smith, Teresia Teaiwa, Stephanie Wamytan