Écrits: A Selection

Expressions of Identity

Despite some dismissal of the research value of its idiosyncratic materials, a substantial body of scholarly publications now uses first-phase Mass Observation papers (1937–50s). An emerging body of literature also draws upon the post-1981 papers of the Mass Observation Project. While Mass Observation’s significance as a historical source is demonstrable through its vast scale, unique holdings and acknowledged international standing, how the eclectic form and content of such materials might best be interpreted is less clear. This article provides a summary of and engagement with the issues of methodological concern to researchers using the archival materials generated by the Mass Observation Project, in particular at the point of its thirtieth anniversary, and also reflects on methods of historical interpretation more generally. Core debates considered include the complex legacies of the original organization and ongoing concern with the demographic ‘representativeness’ of the volunteer panel. The sometimes challenging form and scale of the archival material, and the always interdisciplinary nature of the project (and its researchers), lead to a range of differences in how the material is characterized, as well as in the sampling and interpretive models employed. Through an exploration of debates raised in the recent University of Brighton research network Methodological Innovation: Using Mass Observation, alongside a review of publications that reflect, methodologically, on the use and value of the Mass Observation Project, this article evaluates varied and cross-disciplinary research practices and approaches to present a defence of Mass Observation material as a unique means of accessing the difficulties and complexities of messy everyday life. Consisting of an impressive list of contributors, the four volumes discuss the history, development and current debates alive in the field, such as the biographical turn in social science, the theoretical underpinnings to using human documents in social research and the epistemological , substantive and practical concerns with the process of analyzing data from human documentary sources. Comprehensive, illuminating and dynamic, this collection will have appeal accross all social science disciplines, especially sociology, social psychology, criminology, politics and international relations, management and business studies, human geography, media and communication studies.

/pdf/research-methodology-in-mass-observation-past-and-present-4vtlbonjef.pdf

Research Methodology in Mass Observation Past and Present: 'Scientifically, about as valuable as a chimpanzee's tea party at the zoo'?

The current emergence of a new space economy is leading to the exploration of outer space towards unforeseen futures Space tourism is a new addition to the tourism industry, prompted in large part

Sustainability dimensions in space tourism: the case of Finland

https://www.mv.helsinki.fi/home/patomaki/Social-imaginaries-and-big-%20history-(FUTURES-very-FINAL).pdf

Social imaginaries and Big History: Towards a new planetary consciousness?

Societies have always been formed in a relationship with the rest of the universe. With rapid developments in satellite communications and imaging, space exploration and tourism, military space technology, and cosmology itself, relationships with outer space are changing. These changes have inspired a wave of critical academic work in recent years, re-examining the history, present and future of outer space and the place of humans within it.This handbook provides an in-depth exploration of major themes relating to society, culture and the universe and will inspire and cultivate debate in this exciting and burgeoning area of study for future researchers and theorists. Bringing together scholarship from a range of disciplines including geography, economics, history, political science, sociology, philosophy, science and technology studies, law, cultural astronomy, anthropology, media studies, literature, psychosocial studies and art,it closely examines how outer space is socially produced, experienced, perceived and imagined, and the significance of this for terrestrial social life.

The Palgrave handbook of society, culture and outer space

This article represents one step towards developing a sociology of humanity's relationship with the cosmos. It adapts a central question of sociological concern — how humanity transforms itself as it interacts with nature — to ask questions about how human subjectivities are affected by the increasing `humanization' of the universe and by developments in contemporary cosmology. The argument presented is that some (wealthy) sectors of society are increasingly relating to the universe in a narcissistic fashion, the roots of which can be found in the Renaissance `universal man'. At the same time, marginalized and less powerful people continue to experience the universe as a subject dominating their Earthly lives, a relationship heightened by the use of the universe in military and surveillance operations as well as abstract cosmologies. Problems with both these relationships with the universe are highlighted.

Outer Space and Internal Nature: Towards a Sociology of the Universe

It is sometimes assumed that fantasizing stands in contrast to activism. This book, however, argues that fantasy plays a central role in social movements. Drawing on the psychoanalytic theories of Freud, Klein and Lacan, and psychosocial theories inspired by them, Fantasy and Social Movements examines the relationships between fantasy, reality, action, the unconscious and the collective. It makes a case for distinguishing between various 'modes of fantasy', which configure these relationships in different ways. Illustrated by a case study of activists who support the exploration, development and settlement of outer space, the book's theoretical arguments provide a platform for a critical psychosocial reworking of contemporary social movement theory. The result is a new typology of social movements that places fantasy at its core.

Fantasy and social movements

This article evaluates the use of a "case study group" method for teaching social movement theory. The aim was to give students the opportunity to practice theorizing actively rather than simply learning theory passively. The method provides this by requiring students to undertake case studies on social movements of their choice for the duration of the course, to complete tasks that require them to apply different theoretical ideas and concepts to these case studies, and then to discuss this process in small supportive groups of their peers. In line with existing literature, student evaluations identified four major benefits to learning in this way: forcing active participation, working collaboratively, being able to "practice" ideas, and developing a better understanding of theory through its application to "the real world."

Practicing social movement theory in case study groups

This paper uses psychoanalytic theory to understand the motivation of pro-space activists – people campaigning to increase human activity in outer space. It suggests that activists are motivated by fantasies of a spacefaring civilization, which manifest unconscious phantasies of omnipotence and fusion related to the experience of self in primary narcissism. The argument of the paper is that in order to understand this pursuit of a phantasized self, we must locate activists within the cultural conditions that encourage secondary narcissism. This is one example of how psychoanalytically informed social theory can account for the relationship between social structure and the motivation of political activists.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057%2Fpalgrave.pcs.2100131.pdf

Pro-space activism and narcissistic phantasy

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