Egentligen hade jag aldrig tänkt arbeta med något så till synes opoetiskt som gifter, girighet och genetik i mina konstnärliga och musikaliska verk – mina tidigare verk är mer tvetydiga till sin natur. Men som någon sagt; alla intryck måste få ett uttryck. I synnerhet då det är fråga om livsomvälvande upplevelser som delas av en globalt växande grupp men samtidigt sällan kan uttryckas i brist på allmän kännedom. För mig och denna grupp jag upptäckt handlar det om hur överexponering för (bio)toxiner samverkat med genetiska variationer och gradvis förstört våra immunförsvar samt gett upphov till sk. environmental illness och en rad sammanlänkade följdtillstånd. Mina verk från den här tiden förmedlar kanske ändå klanger och spår av detta på ett poetiskt, universellt och mångbottnat sätt, medan uppsatsen är mera konkret – syftet är att ge ett ytskrap av minoritetserfarenheter med kollektiva och politiska ansatser, analysera deras avspeglingar i mina musikaliska verk och därefter utforska om och hur dessa avtryck upplevs av andra. Endel konstverk berörs i denna text men huvudsakligt fokus ligger, liksom under utbildningen, på mitt musikaliska uttryck. Slutligen tangerar jag nya verk, till vilka jag hoppas bära med mig insikter om musiken som konstnärligt, kommunikativt medium.

En tant que phénomène social, le sacré se manifeste à partir d'un médium, de sorte que la sacralité est conditionnée par les matérialités. L'émergence d'un nouveau médium signifie ainsi l'apparition de nouveaux imaginaires mystiques. Ce travail de recherche s'interroge donc sur les aspects mystiques de l'imaginaire contemporain dévoilés par les médias et les réseaux numériques. Notre stratégie de recherche consiste, dans un premier temps, à engager une approche archéologique des médias, examinant trois différents objets en tant qu'artefacts mystiques : l'écriture, la relique et l'électricité. Cette approche, en s'intéressant à la façon dont chaque médium engendre une fantasmagorie différente, illumine la compréhension de l'imaginaire mystique découlant d'un habitat stratifié en multiples couches. Ensuite, nous examinons certains aspects de la mystique numérique à partir de l'opposition de deux régimes d'imaginaire provoqués par deux écologies matérielles. Premièrement, à l'époque du PC et des interfaces informatiques, il y a l'émergence d'un imaginaire mystique transcendant, cristallisé dans l'image du cyberespace et caractérisé par un nouvel angélisme. Deuxièmement, avec l'introduction des réseaux sans fil et des dispositifs mobiles, l'image d'un environnement réticulaire animiste caractérisé par un retour du paganisme se renforce. Une des formes de cet imaginaire mystique immanent est le technochamanisme, notre terrain de réflexion pour comprendre l'actuel réenchantement du monde marqué par la synergie entre la technique et l'archaïque. / The sacred, as a social phenomenon, manifests from a medium, so the sacredness is conditioned by materialities. The emergence of a new medium means, consequently, the emergence of new mystical imaginaries. This research examines the mystical aspects of the contemporary imaginary unveiled by the media and the digital networks. Our research strategy consists, at first, of engaging a media archaeological approach, examining three different objects as mystical artifacts: the writing, the relic and the electricity. This approach, by focusing on how each medium engenders a different phantasmagoria illuminates the understanding of mystical imaginary arising from a habitat constituted of multiple strata. Then we examine some aspects of digital mysticism from the opposition of two regimes of imaginary caused by two material ecologies. Initially, in the era of PC and computer interfaces, there is the emergence of a transcendent mystical imaginary crystallized in cyberspace image and characterized by a new otherworldliness. Afterwards, with the introduction of wireless networks and mobile devices, the image of a reticular animist environment characterized by a return of paganism is strengthened. One form of this immanent mystical imaginary is the technoshamanism, our field of reflection to understand the current re-enchantment of the world marked by the synergy between technology and archaic. / Enquanto fenômeno social, o sagrado manifesta-se à partir de um medium, de modo que a sacralidade é condicionada pelas materialidades. A emergência de um novo medium significa, assim, o surgimento de novos imaginários místicos. Este estudo interroga-se, portanto, acerca dos aspectos místicos do imaginário contemporâneo desvelados pelos media e redes digitais. Nossa estratégia de pesquisa consiste, em um primeiro momento, em mobilizar uma perspectiva arqueológica dos media, examinando três diferentes objetos como artefatos místicos: a escrita, a relíquia e a eletricidade. Essa abordagem, interessando-se à maneira pela qual cada medium engendra uma fantasmagoria diferente, ilumina a compreensão do imaginário místico resultante de um habitat estratificado em diferentes camadas. Em seguida, examinamos certos aspectos da mística digital a partir da contraposição de dois regimes do imaginário provocados por duas ecologias materiais. Inicialmente, na época do PC e das interfaces informáticas, há a emergência de um imaginário místico transcendental, cristalizado na imagem do ciberespaço e caracterizado por um angelismo renovado. Posteriormente, com a introdução das redes sem fio e dos dispositivos móveis, a imagem de um ambiente reticular animista caracterizado por um retorno do paganismo se reforça. Uma das formas deste imaginário místico imanente é o tecnoxamanismo, nosso campo de reflexão para compreendermos o atual reencantamento do mundo caracterizado pela sinergia entre a técnica e o arcaico.

The paper is an ecocritical analysis of the Empire of the ants, a book written in 1991 by Bernard Werber. Through this green reading, the author seeks to better understand how climate change is created from a social point of view and why, by inherence, it is so difficult to avert. As the book is largely a juxtaposition of the human society and that of ants, the author compares the two species in order to determine which one is better equipped to tackle climate change, as well as which factors, cultural, political or biological, allow for the necessary measures to be taken. The study finds that the complexity of climate change exceeds our understanding of time and space, making it impossible for us to imagine and consequently tackle in any satisfactory manner. Though ants display features superior to ours when it comes to carrying out this task, the study further concludes that there is an accompanying moral dilemma to such actions, as the environmentally profitable not always is in the best interest of individual lives.

The central aim of this thesis is to provide a detailed ethnographic account of the human ecology of the Broads - a protected wetland region in the East of England - focussing upon how working lives shape and are shaped by this reedy landscape. In conversations about the management of the Broads, the concept of "common sense" is a frequent trope; encompassing a wide range of associated meanings. But what are these meanings of "common sense" in English culture, and how do they influence the peoples of England, and landscapes in which they work? This thesis addresses these questions ethnographically; using academic and lay deployments of common sense as a route into the political economy of rural Norfolk. Based on 12 months of fieldwork in the Broads National Park, this thesis draws together interviews and participant observation with land managers of various kinds - including conservationists, farmers, gamekeepers, volunteers, gardeners, and administrators. Chapter 1 dissects the differences between academic and popular understandings of "common sense" as a phrase, and produces an ethnographically-derived, working definition. Chapter 2 examines the attitudes of farmers, establishing "the common" as a root metaphor for social and practical rectitude, actualised through labouring in a shared landscape. Chapter 3 explores how the common is sensed, reflecting upon the diverse sensoria afforded by different degrees of enclosure on a single nature reserve. Chapter 4 explores how the concept of common sense intersects with a prevailing culture of possessive individualism, creating a fragmented society in the Park, wracked by controversies over management. Chapter 5 examines bureaucracy in Broadland - frequently cast as the very antithesis of common sense. In the conclusion, we return to the title, and ask - what do the reeds have to say about land, labour, and human nature?

In the Anthropocene, a new approach towards nature in poetry is emerging. This change is closely related to ecocritical theory, which is a reevaluation of the human view on, and representation of, nature. It moves away from a more traditional anthropocentric perspective to a more critical one. This can for instance be in the spirit of Arne Naess or Timothy Morton, the two main theorists used in this essay. This essay is an ecocritical close reading of two Swedish contemporary poems on nature: “När jag går i skymningsmörkret” by Ingela Strandberg (from Att snara en fågel, 2018) and “(Strandförskjutningar)” by Gunnar D Hansson (from Tapeshavet, 2017). The focus of the reading is on the representation of wild, untouched nature. The formulated questions in the essay concern how untouched nature is represented in the poems, the human relationship towards it and how the differences and similarities between the two poems relate to and transform romantic representations of nature.  The conclusion is that these two very different poems exemplify the range of contemporary Swedish nature poetry. Strandberg’s poem is leaning towards a romantic or ecosofist representation of nature, whilst Hansson’s is more clear-cut ecocritical in line with Morton’s dark ecology.

No description available.

Les lacs piègent des particules sédimentaires au fil du temps de manière à former des archives sédimentaires. Tracer l’origine des particules archivées avec une résolution stratigraphique particulièrement détaillée conduit à reconstituer une ou des informations paléoenvironnementales permettant d’identifier les changements environnementaux passés. Afin de décrypter ces informations, les techniques d’analyse des carottes sédimentaires nécessitent d’identifier des marqueurs de leur composition à haute résolution. L’imagerie l’hyperspectrale demeure une des rares techniques capables de représenter ces marqueurs en deux dimensions pour caractériser les variations de la composition du sédiment et les structures stratigraphiques les plus fines. Dans ce mémoire, le potentiel de l’imagerie est mis en valeur à travers l’étude de plusieurs cas. L’objectif est de reconstituer des changements environnementaux à partir de l’origine des matières organiques (MO) sédimentaires à hauterésolution rapidement et sans destruction des archives. Plusieurs marqueurs hyperspectraux permettant de comprendre l’origine des MO sont développés sur deux sites d’étude choisis pour leur potentielle signature organique sédimentaire. Dans un environnement méditerranéen, les apports en MO détritique dans les sédiments du lac Bresson tracent les épisodes d'incendie du couvert forestier alors que les variations de carbone organique total (COT) dans une série d’archives sédimentaires reconstruisent les fluctuations de l’érosion glaciaire dans un lac arctique. Dans ces deux cas, la MO d’origine détritique est tracée pour la première fois par une méthode non-destructive et le traçage de la MO issue de la productivitéprimaire aquatique (plus classique) est amélioré par un nouvel indice spectroscopique. Ces marqueurs sont validés par des méthodes utilisées en routine (HPLC, comptage des particules de charbon, pyrolyse Rock-Eval 6) puis calibrés par ces techniques pour reconstruire des concentrations en COT à haute résolution. L’imagerie hyperspectrale permet donc de tracer lacomposition sédimentaire, voire des variations géochimiques, pour quantifier l'origine des apports organiques. Ces résultats apparaissent comme prometteurs et fournissent les bases essentielles pour développer l'utilisation en routine de cette nouvelle technique afin de reconstituer finement les changements environnementaux passés. / Over time, lakes trap sedimentary particles that form sedimentary reserves. Tracing the origin of those particles with a precise stratigraphic resolution, involves reconstituting one or more paleo environmental information thus allowing the identification of past environmental changes. Decrypting that information requires a sedimentary carrot analysis technic to identify their high resolution composition indicators. Hyperspectral imagery remains one of the rare technics capable of showing those indicators in a two dimensional form so as to characterize the variations in the composition of the sediment as well as the finer stratigraphic structures. In comparison to the methods used routinely, hyperspectral imagery is a highresolution (nanometers resolution) technic that does not destroy the core of the sediment and is time efficient (1 hour per meter of sediment). In this thesis, the potential of the high resolution imagery is highlighted through the study of several case studies. The aim is to reconstitute environmental changes based on the origin of high resolution sedimentary organic matter (OM) quickly whilst preserving their history. Several hyperspectral indicators have been developed on two carefully chosen study sites to understand the origins of those OM. Those sites were chosen based on their potential sedimentary organic signature. In a Mediterranean environment, detrital OM inputs in the Bresson lake give a history of the various forest fires whereas the organic carbon variations in a series of reserve sediments, reconstruct the fluctuations of glacier erosion in an artic lake. In both cases, the OM of detrital origin is traced for the first time through a non-destructive method. Tracing OM issued from Primary aquatic production is improved with a new spectroscopic index. These indicators are validated by the methods routinely used (HPLC and RE6) then are calibrated by these technics in order to rebuilt high resolution COT concentrations. Hyperspectral imagery allows to trace the sedimentary composition and to see geo chemical variations in order to quantify the origin of organic inputs. Those results seem promising and bring essential foundations to develop the routine use of this new technic in order to reconstitute accurately past environmental changes.

Abstract in English, Afrikaans and Zulu / The aim of the study was to develop a critical posthumanist and democratic theory that may be applied in the teaching and learning of Life Sciences in South Africa in order to achieve an expanded form of democracy that would not discriminate between human and nonhuman. Though both critical posthumanist and democratic theories have been used in pedagogical studies separately, this study focused on the development of a merged and broader theory that has elements of both of the theories. The term nonhuman, as used here, does not specifically refer to non-person individuals only. Rather, it also refers to people who are regarded by the dominant humans as nonhumans – inferiors and subalterns. The latter group of people include the poor, women, children, people of colour and the disabled. Owing to this binarisation characteristic of the Life Sciences as a subject – which it adopts from the nature of science, its curriculum, and pedagogical approaches – the impression is given that as the master of the universe, the human has unlimited power over all other entities. These other nonhuman entities are then regarded as resources for the use of humans. Yet, it is this attitude which has caused humans to abuse nonhumans to the extent that the earth is facing the catastrophe of the Anthropocene. The adoption of a critical education approach characterised by the development of a critical posthumanist and democratic theory that may be applied in the teaching and learning of Life Sciences is essential in dealing with the issue of the Anthropocene that is threatening the earth currently. This study thus seeks to adopt a critical education approach through the introduction of democracy into the teaching and learning of Life Sciences, specifically so that humans would get to a position where they would consider nonhumans as entities with which they co-exist, and entities with equal agency within the environment. The recognition of the need for democracy would allow the humans to treat the nonhumans (such as the environment and ‘subalterns’) with respect, as their compatriots; and by doing that, the harrowing issues leading to the catastrophe of the Anthropocene could be either avoided or averted. / Die doel van die studie was om ’n kritiese posthumanistiese en demokratiese teorie te ontwikkel wat op die onderrig en leer van Lewenswetenskappe in Suid-Afrika toegepas kan word om ’n uitgebreide vorm van demokrasie daar te stel wat nie tussen menslik en niemenslik sal diskrimineer nie. Hoewel kritiese posthumanistiese sowel as demokratiese teorieë apart in pedagogiese studies gebruik word, het hierdie studie op die ontwikkeling van ’n saamgesmelte en breër teorie wat elemente van beide teorieë bevat, gefokus. Die term niemenslik soos wat dit hier gebruik word, verwys nie spesifiek net na niepersoon-individue nie. Dit verwys eerder ook na mense wat deur die dominante mense as niemense – minderes en ondergeskiktes – beskou word. Die laasgenoemde groep mense sluit die armes, vroue, kinders, mense van kleur en gestremde mense in. Vanweë hierdie binêre eienskap van die Lewenswetenskappe as ’n vak – wat dit as gevolg van die aard van wetenskap, sy kurrikulum en pedagogiese benaderings aanvaar het – word die indruk geskep dat die mens as heerser van die heelal onbeperkte mag oor al die ander entiteite het. Hierdie ander niemenslike entiteite word dan as hulpbronne vir gebruik deur mense gesien. Dit is egter hierdie houding wat veroorsaak het dat mense niemense misbruik, in so ’n mate dat die aarde die katastrofe van die Antroposeen in die gesig staar. Die aanneem van ’n kritiese onderrigbenadering wat gekenmerk word deur die ontwikkeling van ’n kritiese posthumanistiese en demokratiese teorie wat by die onderrig en leer van Lewenswetenskappe gebruik kan word, is noodsaaklik om die kwessie van die Antroposeen wat die aarde tans bedreig, te hanteer. Hierdie studie wil dus ’n kritiese onderrigbenadering volg deur middel van die bekendstelling van demokrasie by die onderrig en leer van Lewenswetenskappe, in die besonder sodat mense in ’n posisie sal wees waar hulle niemense as entiteite saam met wie hulle ’n bestaan moet voer, en entiteite met gelyke verteenwoordiging in die omgewing, sal beskou. Om die behoefte aan demokrasie te erken, sal die mense toelaat om die niemense (soos die omgewing en “ondergeskiktes”) as hulle landgenote met respek te behandel; en deur dit te doen, kan die pynlike kwessies wat tot die katastrofe van die Antroposeen sal lei, moontlik vermy of afgeweer word. / Inhloso yalolu cwaningo kwakungukusungula umbono obucayi owenziwa ngemuva kokuphila komuntu nentando yeningi engasetshenziswa ekufundisweni nasekufundeni kwesayensi yezempilo eNingizimu Afrika ukuze kuzuzwe uhlobo olwandisiwe lwentando yeningi olungeke lubandlulule phakathi kwabantu kanye nokungebona abantu. Yize zombili izinkolelo ezibucayi ezenziwa ngemuva kokuphila komuntu nezentando yeningi zisetshenzisiwe ezifundweni zokufundisa ngokwehlukana, lolu cwaningo lugxile ekuthuthukiseni kombono ohlanganisiwe futhi obanzi onezici zombili zale mibono. Igama elithi okungebona abantu njengoba lisetshenziswa lapha, alibhekiseli ngqo kubantu abangebona abantu kuphela. Esikhundleni salokho, libhekise nakubantu ababhekwa ngabantu abaphezulu njengabantu abangebona abantu – abaphansi nabasezingeni eliphansi. Iqembu lokugcina labantu lifaka phakathi abampofu, abesifazane, izingane, abantu bebala nabakhubazekile. Ngenxa yalesi sici sokuhlukaniswa kwesayensi yezempilo njengesifundo – emukela emvelweni yesayensi, ikharikhulamu yayo, kanye nezindlela zokufundisa - kunikezwa umbono wokuthi njengomphathi wendawo yonke, umuntu unamandla angenamkhawulo kuzo zonke ezinye izinhlangano. Lezi ezinye izinto ezingezona abantu zithathwa njengezinsiza ukusetshenziswa abantu. Kodwa-ke, yilesi simo sengqondo esidale ukuthi abantu bahlukumeze abantu abangebona abantu kuze kufike lapho umhlaba ubhekene nenhlekelele yokwakhiwa nokuthuthukiswa komhlaba. Ukwamukelwa kwendlela ebucayi yezemfundo ebonakala ngokuthuthukiswa kombono obucayi owenziwa ngemuva kokuphila komuntu kanye nentando yeningi engasetshenziswa ekufundisweni nasekufundeni kwesayenzi yezempilo kubalulekile ekubhekaneni nodaba lokwakhiwa nokuthuthukiswa komhlaba olusongela umhlaba njengamanje. Lolu cwaningo-ke lufuna ukwamukela indlela yezemfundo ebucayi ngokwethulwa kwentando yeningi ekufundisweni nasekufundeni kwesayensi yezempilo, ikakhulukazi ukuze abantu bafike esikhundeni lapho bezobheka khona abantu abangebona abantu njengezinhlangano abaphila nazo, nezinhlangano ezinokumela ngokulinganayo ngaphakathi kwemvelo. Ukwamukelwa kwesidingo sentando yeningi kuzovumela abantu ukuthi baphathe abantu abangebona abantu (njengemvelo kanye nabasezingeni eliphansi) ngenhlonipho, njengabantu bakubo; futhi ngokwenza lokho, izingqinamba ezihlasimulisayo eziholela enhlekeleleni yokwakhiwa nokuthuthukiswa komhlaba zingagwenywa noma zivinjelwe. / Educational Foundations / Ph. D. (Philosophy of Education)

Humans evolved in a world of giant creatures. Current evidence suggests that most ice age megafauna went extinct around the transition to our current Holocene epoch. The ecological reverberations associated with the loss of over 65% of Earth’s largest terrestrial animals transformed ecosystems and human lifeways forever thereafter. However, there is still substantial debate as to the cause of this mass extinction. Evidence variously supports climate change and anthropogenic factors as primary drivers in the restructuring of the terrestrial biosphere. Much of the ongoing debate is driven by the insufficient resolution accessible via macro-remains. To help fill in the gaps in our understandings of the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, I utilized the growing power of sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) to reconstruct shifting signals of plants and animals in central Yukon. To date, sedaDNA has typically been analyzed by amplifying small, taxonomically informative regions. However, this approach is not ideally suited to the degraded characteristics of sedaDNA and ignores most of the potential data. Means of isolating sedaDNA have also suffered from the use of overly aggressive purification techniques resulting in substantial loss. To address these limitations, I first experimentally developed a novel means of releasing and isolating sedaDNA. Secondly, I developed a novel environmental bait-set designed to simultaneously capture DNA informative of macro-scale ecosystems. When combined, we identify a substantial improvement in the quantity and breadth of biomolecules recovered. These optimizations facilitated the unexpected discovery of horse and mammoth surviving thousands of years after their supposed extirpation. I followed up these results by extracting DNA from multiple permafrost cores where we confirm the late survival signal and identify a far more complex and high-resolution dataset beyond those identifiable by complementary methods. I was also able to reconstruct mitochondrial genomes from multiple megafauna simultaneously solely from sediment, demonstrating the information potential of sedaDNA. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / A new addition to the rapidly growing field of palaeogenetics is environmental DNA (eDNA) with its immense wealth of biomolecules preserved over millennia outside of biological tissues. Organisms are constantly shedding cells, and while most of this DNA is metabolized or otherwise degraded, some small fraction is preserved through sedimentary mineral-binding. I experimentally developed new ancient eDNA methods for recovery, isolation, and analysis to maximize our access to these biomolecules and demonstrate that this novel approach outperforms alternative protocols. Thereafter, I used these methods to extract DNA from ice age permafrost samples dating between 30,000–6,000 years before present. These data demonstrate the power of ancient eDNA for reconstructing ecosystem change through time, as well as identifying evidence for the Holocene survival of caballine horse and woolly mammoth in continental North America. This late persistence of Pleistocene fauna has implications for understanding the human ecological and climatological factors involved in the Late Pleistocene mass extinction event. This effort is paralleled with megafaunal mitogenomic assembly and phylogenetics solely from sediment. This thesis demonstrates that environmental DNA can significantly augment macro-scale buried records in palaeoecology.

This assignment aims to explore and analyze the picture books I skogen by Eva Lindström, Furan by Lisen Adbåge, Om dagen tar slut by Lisa Hyder and Naturen by Emma AdBåge, through an ecocritical study of subjekt formations. The studying of children's literatre, in relatoin to both the anthropocene and environmenantal discourse, gives an insight into the way man and nature are narrated and how subject positions are challenged. When analyzing such subjects this essay uses The Nature in Culture Matrix, created by the research group Nature in Children's Literature and Culture. The main concepts presented throughout this text include anthropocentrism, ecocentrism, celebrated nature and problematasing nature. This thesis examines how modern picture books protest against the former independent, free and courageous child that was encouraged to put themselves before others. Such a chliche is evident when characters defy a common pattern of action and how anthropomorphizations of nature can highlight the ecocritical way of thinking. It is further evident that pictre books, through intrigue, problematize the human subject and draw parallels to everything that is living. To conclude, the results show that the child as a subject either is challenged or replaced by nature.